Lewandowski strikes twice as Barcelona top 4-1 Girona to take La Liga lead

Barcelona thumped visitors Girona 4-1 in a Catalan derby on Sunday, after Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the second half to move Hansi Flick's side three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The victory moved Barcelona to 66 points from 29 games as 36-year-old Lewandowski – who found the net twice after the score was tied at 1-1 – extended his tally at the top of La Liga's scoring chart to 25 goals, three clear of Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe.

"I know a lot of people talk about my age, but I work as hard as I did when I was 21, and I want to play for more seasons," Lewandowski said with a smile. "At the moment I'm feeling great physically, and if you look at the numbers, they're the same as they've always been."

Barcelona predictably dominated the opening stages, as Fermin Lopez and Lewandowski tested Paulo Gazzaniga in Girona's goal with two early shots.

Moments later, Lopez went down on the edge of the box, and the referee awarded a free kick to Barca. But when Video Assistant Referee (VAR) asked him to review his decision for a potential penalty, he awarded Girona a free kick instead, much to the shock of Barcelona's players.

Jules Kounde had a goal disallowed when he strayed offside, as Girona had no answer to Barca's forays into the box. But Gazzaniga stood strong to deny the home side time and again, making four crucial saves in the first half alone.

The Argentine shot-stopper could only stand and watch, however, as Lamine Yamal's free kick was deflected into the net off Girona defender Ladislav Krejci for an own goal, two minutes before half-time.

Girona responded after the restart against the run of play, however, when they won the ball back in midfield and Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma curled a shot past Wojciech Szczesny in Barcelona's goal.

Barca did not panic, and restored their lead just after the hour-mark, when Lopez headed a ball across the box and Lewandowski converted with an acrobatic finish at the far post.

Lewandowski then made it 3-1 in the 77th minute off a counterattack. Frenkie de Jong found him in the box and the Polish striker curled a low shot past Gazzaniga.

Substitute Ferran Torres made it 4-1 when he expertly controlled a pass from the wing with a sublime first touch before finding the bottom corner, while Yamal nearly made it five, only to see his curling shot carom off the crossbar.