70
17:46
Cristhian Stuani comes on at Girona FC
70
17:45
Valentin Castellanos is making a substitution at Girona FC
70
17:45
Toni Villa comes on as a substitute at Girona FC
70
17:45
Yan Couto comes off the bench at Girona FC
67
17:44
Yan Couto tries to stop a solo from Pedri in midfield and injures himself in the process. The Catalan is also slightly injured after this action, but gets up faster than his opponent. Yan Couto leaves the field for a treatment.
65
17:41
Ter Stegen has to reach behind him, but Girona quickly realizes that it was a clear offside position for two players. Logically, the goal doesn’t count.
63
17:39
Jordi Alba’s substitution paid off in this situation – the experienced full-back made a good break with a clever run and got the attack rolling. What comes from Girona now?
61
17:36
Tooor for FC Barcelona, 0:1 by Pedri
Pedri makes it 1-0 in his 100th competitive game for his club! Barca quickly relocate in the penalty area and the ball lands through Ansu Fati at Jordi Alba, who delivers the ball sharply and flat into the six-yard box from the left. Gazzaniga is supposed to be there but lets the ball slip to the back where Pedri is ready and just has to push in.
60
17:35
The hosts also make the first change: Herrera makes room for the more offensive Valery. Clear signal from the coaching team towards the team!
59
17:34
Valery comes on as a substitute at Girona FC
59
17:34
Yangel Herrera comes off the bench at Girona FC
57
17:33
Yan Couto wins the running duel on the right flank and puts the ball low in the middle, but in the meantime the assistant referee’s flag has also gone up.
56
17:31
Girona does not deviate from the plan and continues to defend with man and mouse – can that go well in the long run? The pressure on the hosts’ defense is increasing.
54
17:29
Barcelona are more offensive after the change of sides and show more courage and determination in the last third. So far, however, the flanks have been too imprecise in the center, and the substitution of Jordi Alba does not change that.
51.
17:28
There is the next interruption because Koundé collides with Oriol Romeu in a tackle and the Frenchman stays in midfield. However, he refrains from treatment and continues to play.
49
17:24
Yellow card for Gavi (FC Barcelona)
Gavi slipped into the duel too late against Arnau Martínez and completely cleared the defender at the corner flag. The yellow card is absolutely fine.
47
17:22
The second half has started and Xavi reacts with a change: Jordi Alba is now on for Marcos Alonso. That means more offensive power for the left side of the Catalans.
46
17:21
Substitution at FC Barcelona: Jordi Alba
46
17:21
Substitution at FC Barcelona: Marcos Alonso
46
17:20
Kick-off 2nd half
45
17:07
Mid-term conclusion:
The first half is over and the score is 0-0 between newly promoted Girona and FC Barcelona. It was a first half with few to no highlights as Barca lacked consistency in the last third and Girona defended in a disciplined manner. Dembélé also had to be substituted with a thigh injury and Pedri is now in the game. In the second round both teams have to shift up a gear offensively, otherwise this could be a zero number.
45
17:03
Yellow card for Pedri (FC Barcelona)
Pedri complains loudly because Rodrigo Riquelme clearly handles the ball in the running duel and the fourth official on the sidelines should have seen it. Nevertheless, he gets a yellow card at the end of Pedri – half the Barca bench jumped up and got upset.
45
17:01
Official injury time (minutes): 2
44
17:00
Valentin Castellanos (Girona FC) is shown a yellow card.
Castellanos uses his elbows too much in the fight for the ball against Busquets and hits his opponent in the dogfight in the head. The referee also cautioned the Girona striker with a yellow card.
43
16:58
Yellow card for Ansu Fati (FC Barcelona)
Ansu Fati takes a through ball from Raphinha at full speed, goes after the ball and then easily collides with the opposing keeper. He gets the first yellow card of the game for boarding.
41
16:57
The ball lands via Raphinha when de Jong, who ran steeply, cleverly puts the ball back on Pedri. The substitute midfielder fires a harmless right-footed shot after a short wobble, which Gazzaniga easily absorbs.
39
16:55
Raphinha sees in the right half field that some of his colleagues are running into the penalty area and starts to cross. But the ball flies miles past friend and foe into the goal. A symbolic situation for Barca’s attacking game.
36
16:52
It almost seems as if both teams agreed with this break. The game takes place almost entirely in midfield.
33
16:48
Even if Barca largely determines the game, there are no clear scoring opportunities. With Lewandowski, of course, there is also a player who can free himself in the last third and come to a conclusion. Ansu Fati is a different type of player who has not been able to show himself too often until now.
29
16:46
Ansu Fati accepts an invitation from Girona just before the penalty area, gets a bad pass and pulls from a central position 18 meters. His right-footed shot just missed the right angle, but Gazzaniga would have been there too.
27
16:43
Pedri is making his 100th competitive appearance for FC Barcelona earlier than expected. Gavi moves to the offensive wing and replaces the injured Frenchman.
26
16:42
Substitution at FC Barcelona: Pedri
26
16:41
Substitution at FC Barcelona: Ousmane Dembélé
25
16:41
At Barcelona, Pedri gets ready on the bench as Dembélé indicates he has to leave. There appears to be an injury to the left thigh.
24
16:40
Castellanos starts the overhead kick from a sporting distance of almost exactly 16 meters. The ball misses the goal by about two meters and Ter Stegen remains unimpressed in the box.
22
16:38
Girona approaches the opposing goal through a long relay pass, but as is so often the case in this game, work is over at the latest at the back four, because the quality on Barca’s side is higher in a direct duel.
20
16:36
And even the corner is not yet fruitful at Barca – Raphinha’s balls usually come down the first post. The defense of the hosts has an easy game every time and clears the ball too easily.
18
16:34
Blaugrana don’t get enough pace in their own attacks yet, so Girona don’t have too difficult to defend. The order is right with the climber.
15
16:32
Girona play with fire in the build-up because the ball is played through the six-yard box. Pressured by Ansu Fati, Gazzaniga fritters away the ball and puts it into the feet of Dembélé, who tries a low shot from a tight angle. The keeper is down in time and closes the short corner.
14
4:30 p.m
Ansut Fati has not yet appeared as a Lewandowski replacement. The youngster often drops lower to even get a ball.
12.
16:28
The early stages are fairly balanced with more possession for the league leaders. But Girona does not hide and wants to solve tight situations in a playful way – it succeeds up to the middle line, then Barca grabs.
9.
16:26
Araújo is searched for but not found. Girona can consistently clear the corner kick – it continues with possession of the ball Barcelona.
8th.
16:25
Raphinha cleverly threads in the duel against Miguel Gutiérrez and gets a free kick. The foul brings the ball in almost from the right corner flag himself and then there is the first corner for Barca.
6.
16:22
Barca is partly in the opposing half with all field players and uses its well-known short passing game. The hosts close all the rooms well and don’t allow anything.
3.
16:21
Girona feel their way because Marcos Alonso falls asleep in defense and Yan Couto gets a good through ball on the right. In the penalty area, however, he stumbles while dribbling and is therefore unable to score a goal unhindered. Marcos Alonso clears the corner, which Barca defend well as a team.
3.
16:18
Even if Girona starts here as an outsider, it quickly becomes clear that the promoted team is pressing in the opposing penalty area and putting pressure on Barcelona.
1.
16:16
The game is on – Girona play in red and white kit and Barca line up in yellow kit.
16:12
The players are currently gathering in the players’ tunnel and will be entering the very well-filled stadium in a few moments.
15:58
Barcelona come to Girona with confidence after reaching the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup and will be the favorites. As league leaders, Blaugrana are currently just ahead of pursuers Real Madrid – three points in the away game are a must to keep it that way. In addition, Real will play against San Sebastian on Sunday and could drop more points there. Even if Xavi relies on rotation, the starting eleven should have enough quality to win.
3:50 p.m
Newly promoted Girona have come off the winter break well, underscoring five points from their first three games after the World Cup break. Last weekend, however, they lost out to Villarreal in a turbulent final phase with a whopping eleven minutes of added time and had to admit defeat by a narrow margin of 1-0. The hosts are in the lower midfield, but due to the narrow table constellation, the team has to deal with the relegation battle on every matchday. If anything jumps out in the home game against Barcelona this afternoon, that would of course be big points.
15:47
In contrast to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, Xavi makes a few changes during the week and uses his extensive squad: Ansu Fati starts today for the suspended Lewandowski. Dembélé plays again from the start, the other wing position is taken by Raphinha today. In midfield, the slightly injured Pedri gets a break, Gavi moves up a position for him. And there are also changes in the back four, with Marcos Alonso and Garcia starting for Álex Baldé and Christensen.
15:39
We first look at the starting line-up of the hosts from Girona: newcomer Callens is initially on the bench. Castellanos starts in the center of the attack today instead of Stuani, who started against Villarreal last weekend. There is an inevitable change in central defense as ex-Barca player Santi Bueno is suspended today. For him, Juanpe starts in the defensive center.
15:21
Welcome to the 19th match day of the Spanish league and the duel between Girona and FC Barcelona! The game will kick off at 4:15 p.m.