Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the second half as Barcelona secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Catalan rivals Girona on Sunday, March 30th, extending their lead at the top of La Liga to three points. The win maintains Barcelona’s unbeaten run in all competitions, stretching it to 19 games.
Playing at their temporary home, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona dominated the early stages. Fermín López and Lewandowski tested Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, while Jules Koundé had a goal disallowed for offside.
There was also early controversy when López went down on the edge of the box; the referee initially awarded a free-kick, but after a VAR review for a potential penalty, bizarrely awarded a free-kick to Girona instead.
Despite Gazzaniga making several crucial saves, Barcelona took the lead two minutes before halftime. Lamine Yamal’s free-kick deflected in off Girona defender Ladislav Krejčí for an own goal.
Girona stunned the hosts by equalizing against the run of play shortly after the restart, with Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma curling a shot past Wojciech Szczęsny.
However, Barcelona responded strongly. Lewandowski restored the lead just after the hour mark with an acrobatic finish at the far post, connecting with a headed pass from López.
The Polish striker, 36, then made it 3-1 in the 77th minute, finishing low past Gazzaniga after being played through by Frenkie de Jong during a counter-attack. The goals took Lewandowski to 25 for the season, extending his lead at the top of La Liga’s scoring chart, three clear of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
“I know a lot of people talk about my age, but I work as hard as I did when I was 21 and I want to play for more seasons,” Lewandowski said post-match. “At the moment I’m feeling great physically and if you look at the numbers they’re the same as they’ve always been.”
Substitute Ferran Torres added a fourth goal late on with an expert first touch and finish, while Yamal almost made it five, hitting the crossbar with a curling effort.
“It’s very clear to see that when they had the ball this afternoon, it wasn’t easy for us,” admitted Girona’s Danjuma. “After I scored, I thought we could take something from the game… But then they got their second, they got their third… and then it became very difficult.”
The victory moves Hansi Flick’s Barcelona to 66 points from 29 games, three points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid (63 points). Atletico Madrid remain third on 57 points with nine games remaining in the season.
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