Barça are missing out on the chance to surpass Real Madrid in the Spanish league as Catalan neighbors Girona move up to 12th place.
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Published February 17, 2026
Lamine Yamal missed a penalty as Barcelona lost 2-1 to Girona, missing out on a chance to overtake Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. It was Barça’s second loss in less than a week, leaving them second in the table, two points behind Madrid.
A win on Monday would have put the defending champions ahead of their arch-rivals, but instead a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in last week’s Copa del Rey created a crisis for coach Hansi Flick.
Barcelona took the lead early in the second half, but suffered their second loss.
Yamal hit the post with a spot-kick just before half-time, but 14 minutes into the second period Pau Kvarsi met Jules Kounde’s cross from the right and perfectly placed his header into the top corner.
The goal was Barcelona’s 100th in all competitions this season, making them the second club to score a century in Europe’s top five domestic leagues, after Bayern Munich.
However, Girona roared back into the game just three minutes later.
Barcelona’s João Garcia was already the busiest of the two goalkeepers, but he was unable to stop Tomas Lemar, who scored side-footed from close range after some great work from Vladislav Vanat on the left.
Both teams came close to scoring a decisive second goal, with Girona scoring with three minutes remaining, substitute Fran Beltran scoring from inside the box with a low shot.
Girona’s Joel Roca was sent off in the final minute, but no further goals were scored.
With the win, Girona ended a three-game winless streak and moved up three places to 12th place, level with Getafe on points.
Only seven points separate the 11 clubs from 8th to 18th in La Liga.
