Barcelona left red-faced as renewal-bound star proves catalyst in Girona defeat | OneFootball

The powers that be at La Liga giants Barcelona have on Saturday evening been left with egg on their faces.

As much comes owing to developments in the club’s showdown with Catalan neighbours Girona.

Xavi’s troops of course marked their return to action a short time ago, making the short trip to the Estadi Montilivi.

The fixture marked an absolutely crucial one in Barcelona’s season as a whole, amid the ongoing battle for 2nd place, and with it a place in the Spanish Super Cup for next season.

When all was said and done, however, amid what have proven a difficult couple of weeks for all associated with the club, the Blaugrana, once more, came up short.

Despite having carried a 2-1 advantage into the interval on Saturday evening, a 2nd-half collapse culminated in Girona rattling off three goals without reply, en route to a 4-2 result.

Not only did this culminate in Barca being ousted from their spot in 2nd in the La Liga table, but it saw arch rivals Real Madrid officially crowned champions, too.

And, as alluded to above, left altogether red-faced by such developments will be those in the boardroom at the Camp Nou.

Girona’s eventual comeback this evening was kickstarted by a major individual mistake in the visitors’ midfield.

The moment in question came upon Sergi Roberto directing a dismal pass back towards his own goal, which was seized upon by Artem Dovbyk to lay on Portu’s simple finish.

This could not have come at a worse time for the Barca brass, who have spent the week to date negotiating a contract renewal with captain Roberto, despite heavy fan backlash.

Safe to say that such protests are only set to mount ever further, over the course of the coming hours…

Conor Laird | GSFN