Girona stun Barcelona, make statement in La Liga title race by putting four goals past Xavi's men

They are top of the table and riding an incredible wave of momentum

Girona are living a dream season as the side coached by Michel are now flying in the Spanish La Liga after managing to win 4-2 at Barcelona on Sunday. Another incredible result, especially after Real Madrid's draw in Sevilla, it puts Girona at the top of the table with 41 points after 16 games (13 wins, two draws and only one defeat), two points ahead Carlo Ancelotti's team. 

The visitors scored the opener on Sunday's clash via Artem Dovbyk with an efficient counterattack, a few minutes before Robert Lewandowski's header equalized the game temporarily. Before the two teams went into the dressing room for the break, Girona scored the second goal of the night, with left-back Miguel Gutierrez. FC Barcelona tried to score again in the second half but exposed too much defensively and conceded the third goal before Ilkay Gundogan's goal during the stoppage time gave some hopes to the home side, but then conceded the last minute goal to Christian Stuani.  

The outcome of this match between one of the best teams around Europe and one of the most (if not the most) surprising side of the season tells us a lot about the upcoming months of the title race. Girona are there and should believe in their dream considering they won against the La Liga title holders and only lost to Real Madrid this season. On the other hand, Xavi needs to find a way to close the gap with the same Girona in the upcoming weeks, as Michel's team are now seven points ahead. 

Barcelona missed an incredible chance to close the gap with the leaders and Xavi should be more worried about how they lost, more than the actual result. Especially in the second half, Barcelona looked confused and a bit indecisive. On the other side, Girona were fresh and exploited the defensive insecurities of the home side, who only reacted in the final minutes after cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Girona are now effectively a strong candidate for the championship considering how they won against Barcelona but will have to fight with Real Madrid until the final months of the season. On pape, they have everything needed to dream and to hope for a miracle to happen, and that's more than enough for a team that was used to fighting for relegation survival and not to be the best team in Spain.