Barcelona’s La Liga title defence suffered a major blow after a 2-1 loss to Girona, leaving them two points behind leaders Real Madrid.

SPANISH champions Barcelona fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Girona on Monday. The result leaves Hansi Flick’s side trailing Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga.

Teenage star Lamine Yamal missed a first-half penalty for the visitors. Barcelona eventually took the lead through defender Pau Cubarsi’s header after 59 minutes.

Girona mounted a swift comeback with Thomas Lemar equalising. Fran Beltran then struck a controversial 87th-minute winner to seal a famous victory for the 12th-placed hosts.

Barcelona were left furious as the winning goal came after a foul on Jules Kounde was ignored. Defender Gerard Martin admitted the incident seemed like a foul but urged his team to focus on their own performance.

“In the end Girona deserved it, they had a lot of chances, we defended very badly,” admitted a frustrated Flick. The Barcelona boss said he gave his team two days off to reset after a poor run of form.

The defeat compounds a difficult period for Barcelona following a 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg loss to Atletico Madrid. Cubarsi said the team must be self-critical and improve quickly.

“We have to improve because they can’t score these two goals against us,” Cubarsi told DAZN. “We have to be self-critical, we didn’t play a great game.”

The match was remarkably open and goalless at half-time despite numerous chances. Raphinha hit the post for Barcelona after Yamal’s earlier penalty miss.

Girona ended the game with 10 men after Joel Roca’s late foul on Yamal. The hosts celebrated wildly with their fans after a significant victory.

“Three points against Barca are more than three points, normally they beat almost all teams,” said delighted Girona coach Michel Sanchez.

 The Sun Malaysia