Barcelona’s hopes of moving 15 points clear at the top of LaLiga were dashed as they were held to a goalless draw at home by Girona on Monday.
Despite Real Madrid’s 3-2 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday, Xavi’s Blaugrana failed to find the back of the net, leaving them with a 13-point lead over their second-placed rivals.
Girona started strongly, with Viktor Tsygankov slicing a chance on the volley wide, but Barca had two great chances to take the lead in the opening 10 minutes.
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Robert Lewandowski curled his shot narrowly over, and Santiago Bueno’s attempted clearance was saved by a diving Paulo Gazzaniga.
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Barcelona continued to press, with Gazzaniga denying Raphinha and then clawing away Ronald Araujo’s flick from a corner. Eric Garcia missed a chance to score early in the second half, but it was Valentin Castellanos who had the best chance of the game, evading Barca’s offside trap only to place his shot wide of the target.
The stalemate ended Barcelona’s four-match winning league run, but they remain unbeaten at home in LaLiga this season as they close in on the title.
Girona will rue the missed opportunity to grab a memorable victory against their Catalan rivals, while Barcelona will look to bounce back in their next fixture.
