Barcelona

Pedri's goal on his 100th appearance for Barcelona sent the league leaders six points clear at the top after a hard-fought win against Girona.

ET](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/54ddda58-6bbc-43d5-8336-21ec1da83678/country/us/redirected/true)). ET](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f893324f-330b-418e-97da-fc6f40c846de#bucketId=40626)). ET](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a63ce1f0-673f-4cb5-bf0b-3da302e11ad0/country/us/redirected/true)). [Frenkie de Jong](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/219022/Frenkie-de-Jong) also pushed on and pressed much more to help Ansu and [Raphinha](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/231050/Raphinha) in attack. They then lost [Ousmane Dembele](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/229744/Ousmane-Dembélé), who has been in great form, to injury in the first half to leave them lacking a goal threat against a Girona side happy to sit back and play on the counter-attack. 5 ( [watch live on ESPN+ at 10:15 a.m. It was not to be, though, and Girona remain pointless at home against Barca in the top flight. [Marcos Alonso](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/146127/Marcos-Alonso) at the break to compensate for a lack of width on the left and the change soon paid dividends. So, on he came for his 100th Barcelona appearance at the age of 20. His goal here was an example of being in the right place at the right time as he made himself Barca's match-winner for the second weekend running. [Best/worst performers](#bestworst) [Highlights & notable moments](#highlights)

Pedri celebrated his 100th match for Barcelona as he came off the bench and scored from close range in the second-half to give the LaLiga leaders a ...

Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Girona are 12th on 21 points. GIRONA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pedri celebrated his 100th match for Barcelona as he came off the bench and scored from close range in the second-half to give the LaLiga leaders a hard-fought 1-0 win at Girona on Saturday.

Barcelona rode their luck in picking up a third consecutive 1-0 La Liga win. The Athletic looks at the major talking points from the match.

The former [Manchester City](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-city/) defender made his first league start in three months and looked strong. [Gavi](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gavi-9ACowrmXJKJKTUi5/). [Ansu Fati](https://theathletic.com/football/player/ansu-fati-BOx4DfG7j2tKSfEN/) in a central position normally occupied by the suspended [Robert Lewandowski](https://theathletic.com/football/player/robert-lewandowski-1zm2L0TuehI6gx0H/). He started the game as an attacking midfielder and ended up as a false nine — further proof of the squad problems Xavi had ahead of this game. In any phase of the match, though, Barcelona’s play improves if the ball is at his feet. Xavi saw the team needed a greater threat, and Alba was introduced in his place. Dembele’s injury played a role in it, for sure, and the Catalans tried to push through Raphinha on the other side. In the second half we needed something else there and Jordi Alba was very good.” Their passing accuracy in the final third, as well as the number of fouls won and fouls conceded has also worsened in his absence. “It’s impossible not to notice when you miss a player like Lewandowski,” Xavi said after the Girona win. It is fair to say he was one of his side’s worst performers, and will have done little to address concerns he is not living up to his significant price tag of last summer (£55m). The manager insisted on Friday that “Rapha will be important, we need every player”, but the 26-year-old did not impress.

The Spain midfielder came off the bench to grab the only goal against Girona as Barça closed the gap on leaders Real Madrid to six points.

Antonio Sanabria scored a late equaliser for Torino as they fought back from 2-0 down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Empoli. If I had to find a negative, we made a few too many mistakes in our passing that could have allowed us to extend our lead before the end.” Ademola Lookman struck a fine solo effort as Atalanta eased past Sampdoria to continue their excellent recent form. Second-half substitute Thomasson equalised with two minutes left to cancel out Yasser Larouci’s opener. Frankfurt were largely anonymous until Daichi Kamada fed Randal Kolo Muani in the box to drill in a 69th-minute equaliser. Inter equalised 10 minutes later when Martínez tucked home the rebound after the

BARCELONA, Spain — Pedri marked his 100th Barcelona appearance by scoring to squeeze past Girona 1-0 and increase their lead of the Spanish league on ...

With what we saw on the field the defeat is not fair.” Pedri started on the bench as Xavi rotated his lineup ahead of a week with games against Real Betis and Sevilla. Girona, in 12th place, did nothing in attack until a late push. “It is too bad because he is one of our most decisive players,” Xavi said about his speedy winger. “This is what coach has asked me to do,” Pedri said about his goals. Pedri did so at 20 years, 2 months, 3 days.

Denis Suarez has had a tough season at Celta Vigo. After falling out with hierarchy at the club, the former Barcelona youngster has not made a single ...

However, the midfielder will be going to Espanyol, who are one of their relegation rivals. Diego Martinez’s side have picked up their form in recent weeks, although they did lose to Almeria on Friday night. Denis Suarez has had a tough season at Celta Vigo.

There was much excitement when Sergio Aguero left Manchester City to join Barcelona in the summer of 2021. The Argentine had an incredibly prolific spell at ...

Fittingly, he appeared for Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC in a friendly against Mushuc Runa on Sunday morning. There was much excitement when Sergio Aguero left Manchester City to join Barcelona in the summer of 2021. However, he ended up scoring just once in five games, as a heart condition forced Aguero into retirement.

Barcelona have one of the best academies in the world. La Masia has produced some of the greatest footballers of recent times, including Lionel Messi, ...

One of these has been Emre Demir, who joined Barca last summer after a fee of €2m was agreed with the player’s hometown club Kayserispor. The likes of Pedri and Ronald Araujo fall into this bracket, and have since established themselves as first team players. La Masia has produced some of the greatest footballers of recent times, including Lionel Messi, Andreas Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.