FULL-TIME, Barcelona 2-4 Girona: A fantastic game of football ends with a painful loss for Barça and a win that proves Girona are real contenders. Barça are now seven points off the top and in fourth place, and they’ll need a historic comeback to defend their title this season.
90+5’ GOAL, Barcelona 2-4 Girona (Stuani): Now it’s game over for real as a cross from the left finds Cristhian Stuani all alone at the far post and the Girona striker seals the deal for the visitors.
90+2’ GOAL! Barcelona 2-3 Girona (Gündogan): Barça get their second! Ferran Torres finds Ilkay Gündogan inside the box and the German scores a beautiful goal to give Barça at least some hope deep into stoppage time.
80’ GOAL, Barcelona 1-3 Girona (Valery): Girona double the lead with 10 minutes to go as a long ball from the back finds Valery Fernández, who gets to it before Jules Kounde and passes the ball into the bottom corner to seal the deal for the away side.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 1-2 Girona: Can Barça pull off a comeback? Will Girona continue to attack or try to hold on to their lead? Will the second half be just as wild as the first? We’re back underway to find out the answers!
HALFTIME, Barcelona 1-2 Girona: A wild first half with a lot of good football and a crazy number of chances for both sides, but Girona were more clinical when it mattered and go into the break with the lead. Barça’s defending has been poor but the attack looks dangerous, and they can absolutely come back in this if they’re sharper in the final third.
40’ GOAL, Barcelona 1-2 Girona (Gutiérrez): Girona re-take the lead after a gorgeous passing sequence down the left side that ends with a fantastic finish by left-back Miguel Gutiérrez, who gives the visitors the advantage just befor ehalftime.
19’ GOAL!!! Barcelona 1-1 Girona (Lewandowski): BARÇA EQUALIZE!!! Raphinha takes a great corner and Robert Lewandowski rises highest in the box to head it home!!!
12’ GOAL, Barcelona 0-1 Girona (Dovbyk): Girona take the lead. A through ball from midfield catches the Barça backline off guard and finds Tsigankov all alone on the right wing, and his cross finds Dovbyk by himself at the far post for an easy tap-in off the post and into the net.
KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Girona: And we’re underway at Montjuïc!
WELCOME TO THE MONTJUÏC OLYMPIC STADIUM!!! The beautiful temporary home of the world’s greatest club in the Catalan capital is the site of a monster La Liga clash between Barcelona and Girona as the two Catalans rivals face off in a derby with huge implications in the title race. Barça come into this one in good form and will enter the championship hunt with a win, but Girona are having an amazing season and want to prove that they’re for real. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Peña; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; Pedri, De Jong, Gündogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Félix (4-3-3)
Substitutes: Astralaga (GK), Kochen (GK), Cubarsí, Balde, Roberto, Romeu, Fermín, Yamal, Ferran
GIRONA
Starting XI: Gazzaniga; Eric, López, Blind, Gutiérrez; Couto, Tsigankov, Aleix, Martín, Sávio; Dovbyk (4-5-1)
Substitutes: Carlos (GK), Fuidias (GK), Bernardo, Arnau, Kebe, Stuani, Valery, Juanpe, Solís, Portu
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2023-24 La Liga, Matchday 16
Date/Time: Sunday, December 10, 2023, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos
VAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez
HOW TO WATCH
On TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Viaplay Sports 2 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), others
Online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), DAZN (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!