The first time Barcelona went to Montilivi in ??Primera they won 0-3. The second was won by 0-2. The third, in January of last year, won by the minimum, 0-1 with a goal from Pedri. Despite the local improvement, the Blaugrana have always taken the three points from Girona. But this time Xavi’s team is looking for a little more in their fourth visit. He wants to repair the piece of pride that was wounded on December 2-4.
The data says that Xavi’s team had more possession (53%) in Montjuïc, manufactured more expected goals (of those scored and than Girona), kicked 31 shots, 11 of which on target (7 from the rival ), Gazzaniga made 9 saves, took 8 corners and made more than 500 passes. But he lost.
Xavi didn’t hide that it hurt. “It’s not a personal issue, it’s a challenge for football revenge for the match in the first round. We want to win for team football revenge. In Montjuïc we deserved more and we would like to show that justice was not done”, the egarenc advanced. “They were very forceful and we were bad in defending the 3-4-3, we pulled back like in Miguel’s goal. We got it wrong, because we chased them on individual markings,” he said.
But the one from Terrassa showed that this growing rivalry remains on the field and publicly praised Girona. “If they deserve it, they will be second. But it’s time to congratulate Girona, who have made history. For Catalan football it is magnificent, a source of pride that Girona is competing with the greats. It doesn’t matter what the classification says, they belong to the Champions League because of how they play. And that’s what I told my players”, he revealed about his talk.
Despite the fact that the two teams play similar attacking football, Xavi attributed the difference in performance between Oriol Romeu, ex-Girona, to Barça and Eric Garcia, to environmental pressure and the demands of the environment. loaned by Blaugrana, to Montilivi. “How many people does Barça cover? And Girona? At Girona you play more calmly, it’s easier. It has nothing to do. The footballers themselves tell you. When you talk to Eric, he tells you that they feel like they play more freely. It is difficult to change this”, he compared the two contexts, without wanting to talk about the market. “The players we have are the ones who have to take us to second position”, he clarified. Casting continues.
