La Liga
Girona Hold 10-Man Barcelona
Girona put up an extremely spirited performance and took away a point from the Camp Nou after a thrilling 2-2 draw. Ernesto Valverde made four changes to the Barça squad that handed PSV a 4-0 drubbing midweek. Nelson Semedo, Clement Lenglet, Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal were all started. Three of those four players were making their first ever league starts in Barcelona colours. Although the home side was heavily rotated, they looked to be in control as Girona sat deep and Barcelona bossed possession.
Though Girona’s defense stayed stubborn, Barcelona eventually made the breakthrough. And who else but Leo Messi to provide the much-needed goal. Arturo Vidal kept the ball on the edge of the box and showed great awareness to slide the ball to Messi who made no mistake with the finish. Messi was making his 423rd La Liga appearance and broke the record for the most appearances in La Liga by a foreign player. A record that was previously held by his former teammate Dani Alves.
The VAR Red Card Controversy
The lead did not last for long though. A controversial red card to Clement Lenglet came in the 35th minute thanks to a consultation with VAR. This meant Sergio Busquets had to temporarily slot into the center back role. That lead to disaster on the stroke of halftime. Busquets and Gerard Piqué both misjudged a cross from Aday Benítez and Cristhian Stuani outmuscled Piqué and confidently finished past Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
Samuel Umtiti came on after halftime for Ousmane Dembele. And that provided more defensive cover. Although it was to no avail. Another error from Piqué put Cristian Portu through and his shot was saved well by Ter Stegen. But alas the rebound fell to Stuani who slammed emphatically into the top corner to give Girona the lead.
End To End Thriller
The game settled down once again. Girona started to drop deep once again. But after two errors, Piqué absolutely transformed into a new player. He ventured forward and started attack after attack. Despite being a man down Barcelona threw everything they had into attack. The substitutions of Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitić were also crucial. Coutinho made an immediate impact. He linked up with Messi who created a half chance for Luis Suárez. Suárez’ shot was saved by Yassine Bounou but it fell to Piqué who leaped like a salmon and headed home the equalizer.
Resilient Girona
The game opened a little more. Barcelona kept up the pressure but to no avail. Girona held strong and grabbed a point after a thrilling game. Maybe Valverde could have rotated a little less. The lack of attacking creativity in midfield proved to be the hosts’ downfall. Even so, the game was a thriller and there were lots of positives for both teams to take away.
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Photo credit to Donald Trump via Flickr
