girona vs barcelona: Lamine Yamal misses penalty as Girona stun Barca 2-1 at Montilivi
Girona claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Estadio Montilivi on Monday, with substitute Fran Beltrán burying a late winner after a brief VAR check. Barcelona squandered a first-half penalty through Lamine Yamal and were left to rue defensive lapses as they slipped to a second successive defeat.
Late winner and VAR drama decide fiery Catalan derby
The decisive moment arrived in the 86th minute when Beltrán finished from close range to hand the hosts all three points. The visitors protested that a foul had occurred in the build-up to the goal, with Jules Koundé appearing to be impeded, but the on-field decision stood after a quick video assistant referee review.
Montilivi boiled over at the final whistle after Girona were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time when substitute Joel Roca lunged in on Lamine Yamal. The dismissal did little to change the result, however, with Barcelona unable to fashion a late equaliser despite pressure.
Match flow: chances wasted, quick replies and a key miss
The contest began at a high tempo, with Girona pressing and forcing early saves from Barcelona’s keeper. Barcelona, by contrast, looked sluggish in patches and failed to convert several gilt-edged openings. Yamal, who earned a penalty just before half-time when Dani Olmo was brought down, struck his spot kick against the base of the post in stoppage time of the first half, a miss that proved costly.
Shortly after the break Barcelona finally took the lead when centre-back Pau Cubarsí rose to meet a cross from the right and looped a header into the top corner for his first LaLiga goal in club colours. The lead lasted barely a minute: Girona responded immediately when Thomas Lemar tapped home from close range following a smart delivery from Vladyslav Vanat, restoring parity and shifting momentum back to the hosts.
As the game opened up, Barcelona prodded for control but grew increasingly vulnerable on the counter. The decisive Beltrán strike capped a frantic finish and sent the Montilivi faithful into raptures while leaving Barcelona to pick apart a performance that lacked cohesion, particularly in transition.
Wider implications and Flick’s reaction
The loss leaves Barcelona trailing the league leaders by two points in a tight title race. The defeat compounds a difficult week for Hansi Flick’s side, who had been humbled 4-0 in the first leg of their domestic cup semi-final days earlier. Flick acknowledged his team’s shortcomings, highlighting poor positioning in midfield and mistakes in transition.
He declined to dwell on the VAR controversy surrounding the winner, insisting he did not want to use officiating as an excuse and noting that the team’s overall level of play did not merit complaint. Flick said he would give the squad two days off to recover and then focus on addressing errors ahead of upcoming fixtures.
For Girona, the victory ends a three-game winless run and provides a timely boost in the fight to climb away from the relegation zone. The win moves them to mid-table and eases immediate survival concerns, while Barcelona must regroup quickly as the title race tightens and fixture demands pile up.
Key moments: Yamal’s missed penalty on the stroke of half-time; Cubarsí’s header to put Barcelona ahead; Lemar’s instant equaliser; Beltrán’s late winner upheld after VAR; Joel Roca’s stoppage-time sending-off for a foul on Yamal.
