Three takeaways from Barcelona 2-1 Girona | La Liga MD 9 | OneFootball

Barcelona temporarily regained the pole position on the La Liga standings last night after a dramatic win over Girona at Montjuic, one that seemed a lost cause even a minute before the final whistle.

Pedri Gonzalez gave Barcelona the lead with a peach of a finish early in the night, but Axel Witsel equalised for Girona against the run of play with a stunning bicycle kick soon after.

The visitors then began mounting pressure on Flick’s men by repeatedly breaking on the counter and exposing the defence but fluffed all their chances.

Eventually, Ronald Araujo scored the winner in the dying minutes to help Barcelona take all three points in thrilling fashion.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 2-1 Girona.

The defence raises continued questions

Barcelona’s defence has been struggling. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The first half against Girona at Montjuic saw a pattern very similar to that which Barcelona displayed against PSG, and while the entire team is to blame, the defence continues to take the spotlight as the biggest worry.

Just as they did against Luis Enrique’s men, the Catalans controlled the opening 15 minutes excellently, suffocating the visitors and not giving them a chance to even enter their area.

It all fell apart after Pedri’s opener, however, as they slacked off and handed Girona more of the ball.

Individual errors began creeping in after Barcelona took the lead, and Girona got regular chances to break on the counter.

What was shocking, however, was the fact that the visitors managed to break Barcelona’s offside trap almost every time they attempted to.

A lot has been said about the team’s high defensive line, but it is clear that it is not working as well as it did last season this time around.

Teams have identified the formula for breaking it, and have done so with good effect.

Yesterday, the defence once again looked in absolute shambles, and Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi were left chasing the Girona forwards time and time again, often with the opponents earning 1v1 situations against Wojciech Szczesny.

Kounde’s errors and Balde’s high positioning only made the situation all the more complicated.

Flick has indeed been stubborn with the high line and it has given him the rewards.  Now, however, there is a real need to identify tweaks and last night only highlighted the issue further.

A captain’s shift from De Jong

Frenkie de Jong put on a good shift. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

While Barcelona’s performance last night was far from perfect, one has to laud the dedication and commitment of Frenkie de Jong, who was entrusted with a new role and the responsibility of leading the midfield for 90 minutes.

The Dutchman played in the attacking midfield role last night, alternating at times with Pedri, and was fantastic in the position as he constantly tried to get balls into the opposition box and combine with Lamine Yamal.

While Pedri was hooked off midway through the second half, however, the Dutchman stayed on and continued working tirelessly to win back balls and transition the play to attack.

He racked up 60 passes on the night, including three key passes, created one big chance and was the driving force through the middle.

In the end, it was only fitting that De Jong earned the assist for Barcelona’s winning goal, and it was made possible only because the player continued to believe and pushed himself to the limit even with less than a minute left on the clock.

A true captain’s performance.

Barcelona’s new number 9?

Ronald Araujo scored the winning goal for Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

One of the legacies Gerard Pique left at Barcelona was his operation as a central striker at times of need, especially given his good instincts in front of goal and good height that gave him an aerial advantage.

Pressed for resources in attack last night, especially with Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Raphinha out injured, Hansi Flick found a handy solution in Ronald Araujo to play as the team’s emergency number nine off the bench, thereby making him the new Piqué.

Playing as a striker is not new to Araujo, for he was initially a central forward player in his boyhood days before making the switch to centre-back.

What he showed on the field last night was impressive even for a player with such known foundations.

The Uruguayan star indeed scored the winner for Barcelona in the dying minutes of the game with a killer finish from a complicated position.

The timing of his run and movement off the ball, however, were those of a pure striker.

In his short time on the field, Araujo stood out by getting into good positions, timing his runs to perfection and creating chances and one wonders if Flick has accidentally discovered a new role for the player.