Cubarsi, Martin react after Girona 2-1 Barcelona – ‘People have seen what happened’ | OneFootball

Barcelona lost their second game in a row last night as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Girona at Estadi Montilivi in La Liga.

After a goalless first period, during which they missed several chances, including a penalty from Lamine Yamal, Barcelona took the lead early in the second half through Pau Cubarsi.

However, Girona restored parity shortly after and proceeded to pile on the pressure on their visitors, eventually leading to the match-winning goal by Fran Beltran in the dying stages.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the goal, though, as Claudio Echeverri clearly stamped on Jules Kounde’s foot in the buildup, but the referee did not call a foul and nor did the VAR intervene despite it being a clear error.

Cubarsi on the refereeing and defeat

Speaking to the media after the game, Cubarsi did not shy away from pointing out what had happened regarding the refereeing decision. However, at the same time, he refused to use it as an excuse for the defeat.

“Everyone has seen it, I’m not going to comment. People have seen what happened,” said Cubarsi, as quoted by SPORT.

“We couldn’t do anything from the inside, but we shouldn’t pick on the referee; we also have to improve ourselves,” he added.

Continuing, Cubarsi admitted that the team did not perform to the required level in the Catalan derby.

“We were lacking a bit of everything, we have to be self-critical. It wasn’t a great game. We have to improve, recharge our batteries, we have a long week ahead of us,” the young defender stated.

The Barça centre-back also pointed to the ease with which the team conceded the equaliser shortly after taking the lead as an area to address.

“After my goal, we conceded very quickly. It’s something we need to improve because you let them back into the game too quickly. As I said, we need to keep our heads down and be self-critical,” Cubarsi concluded.

Gerard Martin self-critical

Gerard Martin was self-critical after Barcelona’s 2-1 loss to Girona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Gerard Martin also addressed the referee’s controversial decision, explicitly stating that he believed there was a foul in the build-up to Girona’s second goal.

However, like Cubarsi, the full-back insisted on the need to focus on their own performance.

“I think it was a foul because he stepped on him, but those are decisions we can’t control and we have to do better ourselves, because we didn’t play well today,” he stated.

“Matches depend on many things, but we have to do well in the things that depend on us, and today we didn’t.”

Martin also acknowledged the Blaugrana’s defensive issues and difficulties in creating attacking play after the halftime break.

“Personally, I think we suffered a lot at the back, we weren’t good defensively. We know our style is risky, we believe in it, but we have to improve many things and that’s non-negotiable,” he explained.

On the attacking side, the full-back remarked: “In the first half, we were able to find better advantages on the outside and we got there better; in the second half, they adjusted things, and it was harder for us to get there.”