Teenage Sensation Lamine Yamal Scored Twice as Barcelona secure a 4-1 victory over Girona
Lamine Yamal Shines with a Brace as Barcelona Dominates Girona 4-1.
Barcelona defeated Girona 4-1 on Sunday to maintain their perfect start to the 2024–25 La Liga season. Barcelona’s retaliation for last season’s losses was cemented when Lamine Yamal, the youthful sensation who dazzled at Euro 2024, spearheaded the attack with two goals in the first half. Dani Olmo and Pedri also contributed to the tally.
Sunday’s 4-1 victory against Girona by La Liga leaders Barcelona featured two goals from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. With an impressive win at Montilivi, Hansi Flick’s team has now won all five of their first games and exacted revenge on Girona for two devastating Catalan derby losses they suffered last season.
With goals from Pedri Gonzalez and Dani Olmo in the second half, Yamal’s double in the first half put Barcelona ahead. For the hosts, who were the surprise gift of the previous season and only had four seasons in the top division, Cristhian Stuani delivered a blowback.
Girona’s coach Michel Sanchez had to rebuild after the club lost a number of important players in the summer. Under the direction of former Germany and Bayern Munich coach Flick, Barcelona has gained momentum and put on their greatest performance to far.
“I think you can see the confidence we have, and when we have the ball, we have the quality to play and to create chances,” Flick told the media. “I think today we had a lot of chances to score one or two goals more, but in the end I’m very happy with the performance of the team.”
Robert Lewandowski, the young sensation who helped Spain win Euro 2024 in the summer, broke the tie after Yamal and the striker had gone close in the opening exchanges.
The winger picked the pocket of David Lopez as he sought to bring the ball out of defence, before scoring with aplomb past Paulo Gazzaniga after 30 minutes.
“We started very concentrated, very focussed, we pressed them — we know when we give them the space they need for combinations we get in trouble,” Flick stated.
“You saw the first goal, it was unbelievably good (pressing) from Lamine.”
Yamal grabbed his second before the break with a wonderful directed finish from the edge of the box after a free-kick was cleared into his path. Bryan Gil blasted straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen from close range at the other end, before Girona were awarded a penalty when Inigo Martinez handled the ball.
However following a VAR referral the referee reversed his decision, recognizing that it had bounced on to Martinez’s arm off team-mate Alejandro Balde. Olmo increased Barcelona’s lead early in the second half with a fantastic finish from a tight angle, putting the new recruit from RB Leipzig on three goals from three La Liga outings.
Gazzaniga denied Lewandowski as he went through on goal and tried to finish with a dink, as Barcelona retained possession. Their fourth came through Pedri after midfielder Marc Casado expertly played him through and the Canary Islander took his time to avoid Gazzaniga and score.
“We had to start (the season) well, other years we didn’t start it as we would have liked, above all the coach told us that,” Pedri stated to Movistar.
“(He told us) that from the first game we should push, that the league is won above all in these first games if you keep building the distance up, let’s continue in the same way.”
Ten minutes remained, and Girona had a consolation goal from former Espanyol striker Stuani, before Barcelona substitute Ferran Torres was sent off for a heavy tackle on Yaser Asprilla. Despite starting the season with a perfect record, they were the only blemish on Barcelona’s otherwise spotless record.
Champions Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 on Saturday to take second place, four points adrift of Flick’s team. After the loss, Girona is currently ranked seventh. Their next game is an away Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.
“It feels bad, it was a tough defeat today, for how we were preparing for the game and the excitement of facing Barca again at home,” Stuani stated to Movistar.
“This week we have a really significant game that we have to approach with as much excitement as possible because for us it’s a historic event, so we have to try to forget about it as quickly as possible.
“We have to turn the page on today and try to compete in the best way (we can).”
Later on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao travels to Las Palmas, while Atletico Madrid hosts Valencia.
