Barcelona have a 13-point lead over Real at the top of La Liga after a goalless Catalan derby

The Catalan derby, which concluded the 28th round of La Liga, made the Easter Monday evening more enjoyable for the fans. However, there was no big offensive performance at Camp Nou as Barcelona drew 0:0 with Girona. Nevertheless, they increased their lead over second-placed Real and took another step on their way to winning the Spanish title.

Barcelona’s players had the upper hand from the start. In the ninth minute, they came close to taking the lead when their opponents threatened their own goal. An unsuccessful little home was turned away to safety just inside the goal line by Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

The first half otherwise offered a relatively uneventful spectacle, with both teams getting a few shot attempts throughout. For example, Xavi Hernández’s charges wasted a great chance in the 37th minute when Araújo’s close-range finish was defused by Gazzaniga.

The coaches of both teams resorted to substitutions at the break. On the home side, Franck Kessié replaced Sergi Roberto, while on the away side Borja García gave his place to Aleix García.

Castellanos missed a great opportunity in the 55th minute when he found himself alone in front of Blaugranas goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. The Argentine striker headed towards the right post but missed the target.

Barcelona’s defence could also have scored a goal of their own. Riquelme’s cross into the box was almost knocked into the net by Araújo in the 74th minute. However, the ball only ended up hitting the side netting.

Although the home side dominated the attacking stats throughout, they didn’t have many chances to score. And when they did, they failed to finish.

The Blanquivermells, coached by coach Míchel, defended even the cannonballer Lewandowski and took a valuable point from the favourite’s ground. They are 11th in the La Liga table with 35 points

Barcelona, who have scored just nine goals in the current season of Spain’s top football competition, have increased their lead at the top of the league standings despite a 0-0 draw. Thanks to Real Madrid’s loss to Villarreal, it is now 13 points.

Source: La Liga, Nova Sport 3