BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Substitute Ronald Araujo snatched Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Girona in stoppage time in La Liga on Saturday, ending a mini-defeat streak ahead of next week’s Clasico against Real Madrid.
The central defender wowed the home crowd with his deft deflection of a low pass from Frenkie de Jong, sensing the striker’s movement as he slid in front of his marker as he approached the near post.
Araujo’s final goal came shortly after Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was immediately sent off with two yellow cards after complaining that the referee had not added more than four minutes of stoppage time.
This sending off means Flick will miss the first Clasico of the season.
With the team’s attack faltering and scorers Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha and Ferran Torres all absent due to injury, coach Flick introduced Araujo in the 82nd minute to join the attack in a desperate search for a winner.
“I’m really happy for Ronald, because he always plays with his heart for this team,” Flick said. “I spoke to him to ask if it was possible to play in this position.”
“I didn’t hesitate,” Araujo said when asked by his coach if he could contribute offensively.
“Girona did really well and had some chances, but the important thing was that they hung on until the end and gave the fans the fight they wanted,” said Araujo. “We knew we had come through two tough losses, but with hunger and effort, we knew we could win before the big week.”
Before the international break, Barcelona lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat to Sevilla in La Liga.
Barcelona moved to the top of the league with a one-point advantage over Madrid before playing Getafe on Sunday. Prior to their trip to the capital, Barcelona will host Olympiakos in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Girona had a chance
Pedri González gave Barcelona the lead in the 13th with an exquisite goal, sliding an angled ball into the area and inside the near post without looking at the target.
But Barcelona’s control crumbled seven minutes later when Axel Witsel leveled the score with an acrobatic bicycle kick that sent a soft high ball off the grass and past Wojciech Szczesny.
After Barcelona lost the ball, Girona was able to mount a number of counterattacks, but only Szczesny’s saves and Girona’s failure to shoot prevented them from taking the lead before half-time. Cristian Portu hit the post, Brian Gill missed a close-range chance and Witsel hit the post.
Girona then needed goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga to deflect shots from Fermín López and Marcus Rashold before Araujo decided the result.
“This is a terrible blow because in the last minutes all they could do was hurt us with crosses,” Girona coach Michel Sanchez said. “We cleared two and they put the third one in.”
Lamine Yamal missed the game against Sevilla and Spain’s two World Cup qualifiers after returning from a groin injury, before playing just over an hour for Barcelona.
Coach Flick started 17-year-old forward Toni Fernandes to make his La Liga debut. He was replaced by Fermin at half-time. Dani Olmo was also sent off with an injury.
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