Barcelona (Reuters)
Barcelona strengthened its lead in the La Liga standings, by 13 points from its closest pursuers, despite a goalless draw with Girona, who is in the middle of the standings in a Catalan summit meeting at Camp Nou.
Barcelona came close to scoring, but Ronald Araujo’s shot in the first half did not completely cross the goal line before Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga caught it, in the midst of a largely declining performance from the hosts.
Barcelona’s balance rose to 72 points from 28 matches, 13 points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid with 10 rounds to go, while Girona is eight points ahead of the relegation zone in eleventh place.
Barcelona coach Xavi was hoping for a reaction from his team, after losing 4-0 to Real Madrid in the King’s Cup semi-finals last week, but the team struggled to break through Girona’s strong defense, who kept a clean sheet in the meeting for only the second time in the league this season.
“It was a very difficult game. We played well against Girona,” Xavi told reporters.
“It’s a pity because we wanted to be 15 points behind Real Madrid, but that’s football. I think you have to appreciate the position we’re in a lot.
“The responsibility to score lies with all the players in the team. We played a good game, and we missed goals. We tried everything, but it wasn’t possible today.”
Gazzaniga was also forced to clear the ball off the line, after team mate Santiago Bueno sent a errant back pass that would have gone into the net, while Barcelona winger Rafinha fired wide when well positioned at the far post.
The hosts’ defender, Eric Garcia, headed a free kick over the bar when it would have been easy for him to score, but the best chance of the second half went to the visitors.
Striker Tati Castellanos was alone with Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but he fired the ball wide when he could have sent a simple pass to his colleague Viktor Tsygankov to score from the latter with ease.
Barcelona will head to Getafe in its next match next Sunday, while Girona will host its rival, Elche, on the same day.
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