Barcelona and Girona fail to take advantage of Madrid’s stumble

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MADRID, March 4, (AP): Barcelona and Girona failed to take advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble in the Spanish league.
Defending champion Barcelona was held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao, while Girona lost 1-0 at Mallorca.
The Catalan clubs missed their chance to make up ground on league leader Madrid, which drew 2-2 at Valencia. The weekend’s results meant that Madrid increased its lead over second-place Girona to seven points and stayed eight points ahead of third-place Barcelona.

Fourth-place Atletico Madrid did cut into Madrid’s lead with a 2-1 win over Real Betis, though Diego Simeone’s team remained in fourth place and 11 points behind its city rival after 27 matches.
Barcelona lost two of its top players because of injuries, with Pedri and Frenkie De Jong having to be replaced before halftime in Bilbao.

Athletic remained in fifth place, five points behind the last Champions League place. Before the match, the club paid tribute to a fan who died after suffering a stroke during the Copa del Rey match against Atletico on Thursday.

It was an even match at San Mamés Stadium, with each team having only two attempts on target. João Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski had some of the most significant chances for Barcelona.
“We didn’t play a good match,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “It’s a missed opportunity. We could have done better.”

The coach said the early injuries affected his team. De Jong left the match in the 26th minute after twisting his ankle, while Pedri appeared to hurt a leg muscle in the 45th.
“These are injuries to two very important players, it’s unfortunate,” Xavi said. “We are sad because it seems that they will be out for several matches.”

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