January 28,(THEWILL) – In a closely contested Catalan Derby, Barcelona emerged victorious with a Pedri goal for a 1-0 win over Girona.
The first half was marked by a defensive struggle, with Girona defending deep and allowing Barcelona to dominate possession, but with little penetration. The home side’s best chance came when Rodrigo Riquelme played a fantastic through ball to Yan Couto, but the Man City loanee lost his footing in the box and the danger was cleared.
The second half saw Barcelona come out with more purpose and urgency, moving the ball quicker and looking for a breakthrough. After 61 minutes, Barcelona found the goal they were searching for. Girona failed to clear the danger, and when the ball found its way to Ansu Fati, he played a great ball out to the left for Jordi Alba, who fired in a cross that Paulo Gazzaniga failed to deal with, and Pedri was waiting at the far post to tap home on his 100th appearance.
Girona responded well to going down 1-0, moving the ball quicker in the wide areas and firing in a succession of crosses that put the Barcelona defence under pressure for the first time in the game. Girona’s best chance came in the 86th minute when Aleix Garcia, played a perfect cross to Ivan Martin, but he could only fire his effort wide of the goal.
Despite Girona’s efforts, Barcelona managed to hold on for the win, making it eight consecutive victories across all competitions and taking them six points clear at the top of La Liga. Barca will next play Real Betis on Wednesday, while Girona will host Valencia on February 5th.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
