Robert Lewandowski scored twice inside 17 second-half minutes as Barcelona brushed aside visitors Girona to move three points above Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga with a ninth consecutive league win.
Ladislav Krejci’s own-goal from Lamine Yamal’s free-kick gave Barca the lead two minutes before the break, only for a fine finish by Arnaut Danjuma to draw the White and Reds level with their first attempt on target.
An acrobatic close-range effort by Lewandowski restored the hosts’ lead in the 61st minute, and the Poland captain found the far corner of the net with a low drive from inside the box on the left for his 25th goal of the season, putting him two clear of next-nearest rival Kylian Mbappe, who joined Madrid last summer, as the top scorer in Spain.
Ferran Torres took a touch to enter the box before rolling in a late fourth with the forward’s fourth goal in three league appearances.
Robert Lewandowski restores Barcelona’s lead 🔵🔴
The Pole’s brilliant season continues 🇵🇱
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/kKRqBqGLMb
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) March 30, 2025
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Barcelona had all four attempts on target and almost 72% of possession during the first half of their LaLiga home game against Girona on Sunday, but they went ahead by fortuitous means when Yamal’s curling set piece from the edge of the box on the right took a deflection off Czechia international Ladislav Krejci and crept inside the near post of the visitors’ goal.
Jules Kounde had the ball in the net for Barca shortly beforehand after combining with Yamal, only for his finish to be ruled out for offside.
Yamal had set Lewandowski for an early chance before testing goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga himself in the 15th minute, but Girona, who had only lost one of their previous four top-flight trips to Barcelona, hit back eight minutes after the restart when Daley Blind won possession on the left and quick-wittedly released Danjuma just inside the penalty area, the forward angling a low first-time finish into the far corner of the net.
Danjuma had only five touches during the first half but showed his efficiency and ruthlessness to briefly imperil Barcelona’s flawless league run since January 18, striking as part of his third loan move from Villarreal following spells with Tottenham and Everton.
Having demonstrated his agility and bravery to restore Barca’s lead by turning in Fermin Lopez’s cross, Lewandowski netted again as part of a swift counter-attack, with Ferran Torres’s goal taking Barcelona’s league tally to 82 for the season – 20 more than Madrid.
The reigning champions were made to work for their win as they temporarily drew level on points with Barcelona by winning 3-2 at home to Leganes on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for the Champions League holders from the penalty spot, but they were behind at half-time courtesy of goals by Diego Garcia and Dani Raba.
Jude Bellingham equalised two minutes after the interval and Mbappe’s winner 14 minutes from time ensured Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Espanyol left Diego Simeone’s team six points behind Madrid.
Each of the three title contenders has nine league games remaining, with Barcelona travelling to Atleti next in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday (20:30 BST), having drawn the first leg 4-4.
Madrid will start the second leg of their tie at home to Real Sociedad with a 1-0 lead on Tuesday (20:30).
