Barcelona took on Girona in the first Catalan derby of the season at Estadi Montilivi on Sunday. Carrying forward their good run of momentum, Hansi Flick’s men took all three points with a good performance.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring at the half-hour mark with a well-worked solo finish and doubled the team under ten minutes later converting from a long-range strike.
Dani Olmo made it three for Barcelona with a sublime finish minutes after the restart, writing the team’s dominance on the wall and silencing the Montilivi before Pedri punished the hosts again to make it 4-0.
Christian Stuani scored off the bench to give Girona late consolation, for the result was already written in stone.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona’s win at the Catalan derby.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 7
Amidst the general consensus over Ter Stegen’s insufficiencies, the German star was stellar against Girona as he racked up three saves including two from inside the box in the first half.
Made a premature, unnecessary run to leave the goal unmanned and gift the home side one goal back.
Alejandro Balde: 7.5
The Spanish full-back was again given the freedom to venture forward in attack and stretched the Girona defence on the left flank.
While he did not create much threat in the final third, his first-half performance was decorated by him winning 100% of duels attempted. Much improved in attack after the break.
Inigo Martinez: 8
The veteran stepped up and led from the front in defence, cutting off Girona’s striker from many attempted services. Recorded four clearances, blocked one shot and won one duel to help his side to the win.
Pau Cubarsi: 6
A bizarre night for Cubarsi as he recorded only one defensive action in the 60 minutes he was on the field. Did not make many mistakes and was comfortable in possession, but was not called into action half as much as he would have liked.
Jules Kounde: 8.5
The Frenchman was solid in the first half, dribbled past once but was reliable in defence. However, his big moment in the game came early in the second period when he found a perfectly weighted ball over the top for Dani Olmo’s assist.
Pedri: 9
A well-rounded and mature performance from Pedri once more shows great understanding of what the manager expects of him. Recorded two successful dribbles, and one key pass and completed 90% of the passes he attempted on the night.
Scored with an ice-cool finish to make it four for the Catalans, taking the ball beyond the goalkeeper and slotting it calmly.
Marc Casado: 8.5
Calm under pressure and precise with his distribution, Casado did well starting in the pivot position. Dominated the duels in midfield and held the fortress with authority.
Recorded his first assist of the season with a sensational through ball to Pedri, slicing Girona’s defence in half.
Raphinha: 9.5
Continuing from where he left off before the break, Raphinha was in fine touch in the derby as he lurked in the spaces behind the striker and bamboozled the defence with his tricky runs.
Finished the game with four key passes, a big chance created and two accurate crosses.
Dani Olmo: 8.5
The new signing appeared out of sorts in the first half, largely disconnected and managing just 17 passes in 45 minutes. Olmo created no threat in the box and looked rusty coming back from his minor knock.
Instantly turned his fortunes around after the break, sending a rocket past Gazzaniga from a seemingly impossible angle but came off with what looked to be a discomfort.
Lamine Yamal: 10
The star-boy once again, Lamine Yamal is simply unstoppable. The youngster was the hero on the night, scoring a phenomenal first half-brace to give his team a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Stealing the ball away from the Girona defence in the 30th minute, the youngster did well to beat Paulo Gazzaniga from near range before firing a long-range strike nine minutes later.
Dazzled with his general combination play and led the counterattack for Barcelona.
Robert Lewandowski: 7
Playing his 100th game as a Barcelona player, Lewandowski had a positive first half that was capped off by an assist for Lamine Yamal’s second goal of the night.
Had a sensational chance to score close to the hour mark but failed to convert on the special occasion.
Eric Garcia: 8
Did well in the holding midfield position and even earned the love of the fans he represented last season.