BARCELONA: Title-ch­a­sing Barcelona exte­nded their lead at the top of LaLiga to 13 points despite being held to a goalless draw by mid-table Girona in their Catalan derby at the Camp Nou on Monday.

Barca came closest to scoring but Ronald Araujo’s shot in the first half did not completely cross the goalline before Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga clawed it clear in what was a largely uninspiring performance from the home side.

They moved up to 72 points from 28 games, 13 ahead of second-placed Real Madrid with 10 rounds remaining, while Girona are eight points clear of the relegation zone in 11th place.

Still smarting from their Clasico humiliation by Real last week in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona were far from their best despite the motivation of seeing the champions lose on Saturday against Villarreal.

Girona were solid and forced Xavi Hernandez’s side to drop points at home in La Liga for only the third time this season.

Barca secured their 21st clean sheet in the top flight but were not able to fully capitalise on Real’s stumble, as they bid to win La Liga for the first time since 2019.

“As the minutes passed, they started to gain confidence in defence, and we were struggling to make the final pass or take our chances,” Barca captain Sergio Busquets told DAZN.

“Our objective rem­a­ins the same, to win La Liga, and to try to win it as soon as possible. We’re 13 points clear, but our objective remains the same.”

Barca supporters chanted Lionel Messi’s name again after 10 minutes, representing the World Cup winner’s former Barca shirt number, amid hopes he could return to his former club after his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires.

“Leo generates excitement, they have chanted his name in two games now, we’ll see what happens,” Xavi told reporters. “We are focused on this, we have to win La Liga.

“It is a pity because we wanted to move 15 points clear of Real Madrid, but this is football. I think you have to value a lot the position we are in [at the top of LaLiga]. We would absolutely have taken being 13 points clear, at the start of the season.”

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2023