New Delhi, India

Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to occupy the top spot in the La Liga standings. Girona took the lead at the 12th minute, courtesy of Artem Dovbyk before Robert Lewandowski equalised for the hosts after seven minutes. Thereafter, it was Girona's show all over as they rode on Miguel Gutierrez, Valery Fernandez and Cristhian Stuani to end the game 4-2 in their side's favour. Likay Gundogan scored the second goal for his team Barca, but it was too late by then. After the impressive win over Barca, Girona coach Michel lauded his side and made a big claim, saying his side have a soul and can hurt any opponent on their day.

Advertisment

"This Girona side have a soul and believe they can hurt their opponents," coach Michel said after the match. "We knew that [Barca] were going to press hard but if we were able to make the first two passes, we would stand a chance," he said.

Also read: La Liga: Granada-Athletic Bilbao match abandoned after fan dies in stands

Míchel further said that his side's performance proved they can compete with anyone, however, he refused to get carried away in terms of what it meant for their title hopes this season.

Advertisment

In this regard, he added, "The first thing to say is we are safe [from relegation] now with 41 points. That's happened much earlier than we thought. We have made history. It was a game to be remembered, a great game between two teams looking to go for it. Any football fan watching has seen two teams that had the intention to win and I think we did LaLiga a favour with the match today, playing toe-to-toe."

Xavi, on the other hand, told, "Girona have a lot of merit in what they are doing. They are in the lead, even more so today. They've got seven points more than us and that's well deserved. It was an even game. If Barca won, we would also say it's fair. I think we shot 31 times. Maybe the errors in defence have taken their toll on us."

The loss is  Barcelona's second league defeat of the season. They will next face mid-table Valencia on Saturday (Dec 17) with Girona to host the 12th placed Alaves on Dec 18.