On Sunday evening, the last two matches of the 5th round of the Spanish La Liga championship were played.
At the "Camp Nou" stadium, "Barcelona" hosted the "Girona" team. After a long period of domination in the match, "Barca" tasted the lack of victory for the first time this season - "Girona" secured a 2:2 draw.
The hosts began the match successfully - "Barca" took the advantage in the 19th minute when Lionel Messi scored a precise shot after a pass from Arturo Vidal.
However, an unexpected red card for Clement Lenglet changed the course of the match in the 35th minute. The Frenchman was sent off for elbowing an opponent in the face, although there were discussions about whether the defender had any intentions while committing this action.
"Girona" took advantage of the numerical superiority - at the end of the first half, Christian Stuani ran past the opponents' defenders and sent the ball into the net from an uncomfortable angle. The score was tied - 1:1.
In the second half, "Barca" made a substitution in the defender position - Samuel Umtiti replaced Ousmane Dembele. However, the decision did not pay off - in the 51st minute, the same C. Stuani scored again, giving "Girona" the lead.
Even playing with ten men, "Barca" did not hesitate to take risks - defender Gerard Pique joined the attack and equalized the score in the 63rd minute with a header. The Spaniard restored the equality in the duel.
Throughout the remaining time, the hosts pressed the visitors and had good opportunities to secure the victory, but "Girona" held on and became the first team this season to take points away from "Barca".
"Barcelona" lost its sole leader position and now has 13 points along with Madrid's "Real". "Girona" stands in seventh place.
In another match, Sevilla's "Real Betis" erased a two-goal deficit after the first half and drew against Bilbao's "Athletic".
Results:
"Barcelona" 2 - 2 "Girona"
19' [1 - 0] L. Messi
45' [1 - 1] C. Stuani
51' [1 - 2] C. Stuani
63' [2 - 2] G. Pique
35' C. Lenglet ("Barcelona") sent off
"Real Betis" 2 - 2 "Athletic Bilbao"
7' [0 - 1] I. Williams
18' [0 - 2] R. Garcia
51' [1 - 2] M. Bartra
68' [2 - 2] S. Canales
45' M. Susaeta ("Bilbao") sent off
Tournament table:
