Araujo unleashes the madness of a torn Barça

BarcelonaA frayed, fractured Barça, weak in defense and lacking many ideas in attack, saved the day against Girona thanks to a shot with his foot, but which could have been with his heart, from Ronald Araujo in stoppage time (2-1). The avalanche of injuries is shaking up a team that has a lot of homework to do, but is managing to return to winning ways in La Liga after being stripped bare in Seville before the international break. Barça's lackluster form continues, but the comeback against Girona allows them to breathe a little before hosting Olympiacos on Tuesday and visiting the Bernabéu on Sunday. Pedri had started the scoring and Witsel had equalized. Hansi Flick was sent off after Gil Manzano drove the Blaugranas crazy. The coach now faces a severe sanction because he didn't leave the bench and instead made sausages to celebrate the goal. It's all madness.

The match was an emotional rollercoaster, even though Barça had started off on a high note. The first applause came from Rashford, whose powerful, centered free kick didn't pose any problems for Gazzinaga, and from Lamine Yamal, who swung past his defender and launched a diagonal shot that ended with a deflected shot. Little by little, the fans seemed to be waking up, as if waking from a nap, while Barça dominated overwhelmingly. Barça closed in on a beaten Girona side, and it wouldn't take the Blaugranas a quarter of an hour to open the scoring.

Kounde's high pressure, which would go from strength to strength in a worrying way, ended with the Frenchman linking up with Pedri, who would then with Lamine Yamal, who would return the ball to the number 8 so that he could drive through the Girona area as if it were his home and send a soft but precise shot that would hit the post. Flick's team seemed willing to put the criticism behind them with a great start to the match, but everything would turn around like a sock for the Blaugrana. Girona went from being a team that seemed like they were going to leave Montjuïc scalded to becoming a tough opponent against a Barça that would increasingly fade away.

Witsel ties the match with a superb goal

Míchel's men have begun to emerge from the cave thanks to a pair of forays by youngster Joel Roca, a former Barcelona youth academy player and the only Girona native in the Rojiblanco squad. A corner kick he drew—although Kounde appealed for handball because the ball had hit Roca's arm, but Gil Manzano didn't consider it enough—ended with Witsel scoring a superb goal, half overhead kick, half scissor kick. The equalizer disoriented the Blaugrana, who would rack up a couple of difficult losses in the following minutes that led to counterattacks. In the first, troubled by Cubarsí, Vanat—probably in an offside position—found himself faced with a good save from Szczesny. In the next, almost immediately after, Eric chased down Portu, who ended up hitting the post after the Pole managed to crucially deflect the shot. Barça responded with a shot from De Jong that met a great save from Gazzaniga.

With the score level, the match became an exchange of blows. Rasfhord sent a stinging free kick—again—hitting the crossbar. Of the three in front, only Toni Fernández needed to find the net, once again without Ferran and Lewandowski. As against PSG, Barça began to unravel from the opening minutes, and Girona's attackers found it easy to find the back of the defense. The big difference is that the Parisians' forward line is more talented than Girona's, and Bryan Gil, first, and then Witsel, sent two clear shots wide before halftime and it began to rain heavily on Montjuïc.

A crazy second half on Montjuïc

Barça closed the first half exhibiting a weakness that is of serious concern with just a week to go before their visit to the Bernabéu. After the restart, Fermín came to the rescue, and his electricity was soon to be unleashed, firing a pair of shots, the second hitting the post. De Jong also had a clear chance, but his shot was very poor from the heart of the box. Flick's team, lacking any control, threatened, and the feeling was that they would eventually win through persistence, but they remained a weak team as soon as Girona could activate counterattacks. Roca almost found the net after a careless Kounde error, but Szczesny was once again providential.

Cubarsí finally found the net, but Gil Manzano—the usual suspect and booed at Montjuïc—disallowed it, considering a prior foul by Eric. Flick's men struggled with their own ineffectiveness and the refereeing decisions. Gazzaniga continued to make it impossible for Rashford to score, who would have been playing as a number 9 after Fermín's substitution. The British player's chance came without the heavyweights on the pitch: at the hour mark, Flick—due to load management—rested Pedri and Lamine Yamal, and Christensen and Roony came on. The Englishman would once again take center stage, claiming a penalty, but the contact was outside the area, and Gil Manzano refused to whistle or award a foul in favor of Barça.

Time ticked by, and Barça faded, limp at the back and lacking ideas up front, with Araujo as an emergency striker. Amid the nerves that set the fans' hearts racing, the trick ended up working. Araujo sparked euphoria by sending De Jong's assist into the back of the box with his last breath, but much work remains to be done.