Something curious is happening in Girona, a phenomenon as exceptional as it is beautiful. The children, without complexes or debts with the past, are the ones who pass on their love for the red and white colors to their parents and, not the other way around, as the never-written – but repeated ad nauseam – commandments of the football fan seemed to order. And parents, then, do nothing but surrender to the happiness of their children. Above all, when they observed that their historic love for Barça and their particular philosophy of play gave in to Míchel’s team. And it was no coincidence, Girona beat Barcelona in Montilivi in the same way they had done in Montjuïc: 2-4 and 4-2. Michel’s boys scored eight goals in 180 minutes against Xavi’s men. And to celebrate everything, the victories against Barcelona, the good football and the affection for a team that goes from sons to fathers, Girona did what had never been seen in Montilivi: it qualified for the Champions League for the first time in its history.
4
Gazzaniga, Miguel Gutierrez, David López (Portu, min. 64), Eric Garcia, Daley Blind, Sávio (Valery Fernández, min. 86), Aleix García, Iván Martín, Yangel Herrera, Tsygankov (Yan Couto, min. 64) and Dovbyk
2
Ter Stegen, Pau Cubarsí, Cancelo, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Sergi Roberto (Oriol Romeu, min. 79), A. Christensen (Pedri, min. 68), Gündogan, Lewandowski (Ferrán Torres, min. 79), Fermín López and Lamine Yamal
Goals 0-1 min. 3: A. Christensen. 1-1 min. 4: Dovbyk. 1-2 min. 46: Lewandowski. 2-2 min. 65: Portu. 3-2 min. 67: Miguel Gutierrez. 4-2 min. 74: Portu.
Referee Alejandro José Hernández Hernández
Yellow cards Koundé (min. 27), Ronald Araújo (min. 38) and Sergi Roberto (min. 42)
“We wanted to achieve that, to stand out for our game, to transcend. Like when I see Leverkusen (German champion), there is something there. Now we have the challenge of maintaining second place with four days to go,” Michel highlighted. In Girona they could not contain their anxiety, as soon as the match finished, while the players and the red-and-white staff dressed in t-shirts that honored their visa to the top European competition, the Champions League anthem sounded in Montilivi. “When it really rings, it will be historic. “Our hair will stand on end when we play for points, for a real game,” said the Girona coach. “Seeing that all these people are going to enjoy the Champions League… It was something that couldn’t have been thought of before,” added Portu. “The challenge has been to play without fear, without the fears of the small teams. Without looking at the results,” Michel stressed. And he added: “It is complete happiness. We arrived in the Second Division and we are in the Champions League. And there are four days left. It’s incredible, we have 74 points. It’s tremendous what these players have done. It is a project that they let you work on.”
While Michel is already publicly fantasizing about playing at Anfield and hosting Bayern Munich, Xavi Hernández is still trapped in the same web of the entire Barça campaign. “We lost control of the match due to flagrant errors, which cannot happen at this level. It has happened to us all season and it continues to happen to us. And at this level it makes a difference,” said the Barcelona coach. Xavi looked at the locker room and Sergi Roberto, the captain, picked up the glove “Apologize to the team, because we were playing a good game. We are leaving angry,” explained the leader of the Barcelona squad, about his mistake that ended in 2-2.
“We collapse with any negative situation. Specific and individual errors. We have talked about it, we have given them all the confidence. I think it’s also a lack of maturity due to the age of the team. I suppose we will learn from our mistakes and next year we will compete, otherwise it is impossible,” Xavi insisted. And he added: “I am very sad, disappointed, we have seen both sides of the coin. The match was brilliant, we dominated Girona.” Xavi was right: Barça had dominated Girona in the first act. In fact, he dominated it like no one else in Montilivi. The red and white team had never had the ball so little time: 38%. “Until the 65th minute, until their tie, we had been superior. But after the tie we left the game, it makes me very angry, because it was my mistake and I am leaving very angry,” Sergi Roberto concluded.
The problem, in any case, is that Barcelona does not know how to live with mistakes. “It is relatable, there is a mental issue, of competing better… they are individual errors, we have to give them confidence… we prepare the games very well, today we had a brilliant hour but in the last few minutes we have not been at the level that being a Barcelona player demands,” Xavi analyzed. And neither with self-criticism. “When you see yourself superior to your rival and the result tells you that you lose 4-2, it is not easy to digest…” said the Barcelona coach.
Barça loses games against Michel’s team, at the same time it loses fans in Girona. “Now we want to win a title,” Michel concluded.
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