1-2! Barcelona gave a big gift on the first day of the Lunar New Year, losing the top spot as Aimar missed a penalty and a one-on-one chance.

At 4 a.m. Beijing time on February 17, the final match of La Liga’s 24th round featured Barcelona visiting Girona.

In the first half, Aimar failed to convert a one-on-one chance, Rafinha’s shot struck the post, Olmo earned a penalty, and Aimar’s spot kick hit the post, resulting in a 0-0 halftime score; in the second half, Cubas netted his first goal of the season, Lemar leveled the score, Beltran scored the decisive goal, and Roca received a red card in stoppage time.

In the end, Girona came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1, climbing to 11th place with 29 points, while Barcelona’s defeat left them 2 points behind leaders Real Madrid, surrendering the top position.

For Girona vs Barcelona, Michel deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with a starting lineup valued at €97.3 million;Flick used a 4-3-3 setup with Rafinha, Ferran, and Aimar forming the front three, Olmo, De Jong, and Fermin in midfield, and Martin, Eric Garcia, Cubas, and Conti in defense, with Joan Garcia as goalkeeper, totaling a starting lineup worth €730 million..

This match once again exposed Barcelona’s issues in attack and defense, with defensive problems being longstanding. Barcelona’s strategy relies on scoring more goals than the opponent. However, with Ferran as the starting striker, this is a fatal weakness; Ferran clearly lacks the ability to play as a main striker in a top-five European league, struggling even to finish simple chances, let alone create opportunities. Aimar was off form, missing a one-on-one and a penalty, plus several other chances. Not letting Rafinha take the penalty but giving it to the young star Aimar is a coaching decision problem. Overall, Barcelona struggled both offensively and defensively, losing 1-2 away to Girona and relinquishing the top spot, now 2 points behind Real Madrid, effectively losing the title race advantage.

Throughout the match,Barcelona maintained 71% possession, exceeding 70%, and fired 27 shots but only 4 were on target; Girona had 13 shots with 9 on target, three times Barcelona’s accuracy.This clearly shows Barcelona’s defeat was justified. Aimar had 7 shots with 1 on target, Fermin 5 shots none on target, Rafinha 4 shots none on target, Ferran 2 shots none on target — Barcelona’s attackers were shooting wildly, as if forgetting to aim properly.