An evening that FC Barcelona will never forget occurred on Sunday, when they were defeated by Girona, their rivals from Catalonia, by a score of 2-4 at their own stadium. Girona went on to win the La Liga standings as a result of their triumph.

Girona got the early lead in the first period of the match, but Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski was able to equalize the score. The match was a lot of fun to watch.

The away team regained their lead with a goal scored by Miguel Gutierrez, a former player for Real Madrid, very close to the halftime break. They then added a third goal with ten minutes remaining in the normal time period.

A goal scored by Ilkay Gundogan in the final minute of stoppage time offered Barcelona a glimmer of hope that they could pull off another miraculous draw. However, it was not to be, as Girona’s Cristhian Stuani added a fourth goal to close out the match.

It was a disheartening finish for the team that had previously won the championship, since they are now seven points behind Girona, who are currently in first place.

Xavi, the manager of Barcelona, stated after the match that the encounter was a contest that was evenly contested and that Girona had a significant edge in the race for the La Liga title. He said:

“Girona has a fantastic amount of advantages; they are seven points ahead of us, and the work that Michel and his players have done is quite remarkable. It was a fight to the finish. It would be fair if Barcelona were to emerge victorious. We were not very effective, and our losses were a direct result of our defensive errors.

“It was a match of details, and the winner will be the one who hits.” I believe that we did thirty shots. He went on to say that Girona were more courageous and more effective.

The manager of Barcelona also provided additional commentary on the game, saying, “In general, I think it was a difficult match.” A great number of blows were delivered to us. I believe that we had a greater degree of control than Girona, and the play was not terrible. I believe that we were successful, that we were good, and that we created.

It is my opinion that we must proceed along this route, there should be no uncertainty or fear, and we should keep working. Despite the fact that it is a significant setback for us, we must proceed. Quite frequently, it is necessary to take one step back in order to bring about two steps forward.

“We did not control the details in the match,” the 43-year-old football player remarked in response to the problems that his side encountered throughout the game. Both in terms of pressing without the ball and in terms of other defensive factors, we were not successful. More intensity was required of us. In the match against Atletico, our intense pressure was effective, but not today.

In order to further defend the performance of his squad, he continued by saying, “We did not play that poorly.” In spite of the fact that the outcome was bad, the performance was not.

“The fans are upset, but the match that took place today was not a horrible one. Despite the fact that we had control of the match, we chose not to take advantage of it. We need to improve our effectiveness after we have had 31 shots on goal.

He continued by saying, “We always have a lot at stake,” in reference to the things that are resting on the line for Barcelona for the remainder of the season. Continued effort is required since we are still in the running for the Champions League.

In addition, Xavi went on to defend his star striker Robert Lewandowski, who in addition to scoring a goal on the evening, was poor in all other aspects of the game.

According to Xavi, “Lewandowski was a huge help to us; he scored the equalizer, and he came very close to scoring the three-point takeover.”

Eric Garcia, who was on loan from Barcelona and played for Girona on Sunday night, was also discussed by the manager, who said the following about his accomplishments:

I would have preferred for Eric García to remain with us, if it were up to me. A fantastic match was played by him today. There is no pressure on him to play. The experience of playing for Girona is not the same as the experience of playing for Barcelona.

“I don’t think this loss will raise doubts,” Xavi said in response to the question of whether or not the result puts further pressure on him and the team. The president and the football analysts were present during our meeting. It’s a significant loss, yet there are other things that may have occurred in this situation.