Yamal misses a penalty and Barcelona''s late collapse hands Girona a 2-1 win in La Liga
Girona (Spain) (AP): Lamine Yamal missed a penalty as Barcelona lost at Girona 2-1 on Monday and passed up a chance to overtake Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
The defeat was the second in less than a week for Barca and left it second in the table, two points behind Madrid.
A win would have taken it above its archrival but, instead, a crisis brewed for coach Hansi Flick, whose side lost to Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Copa del Rey last week.
The second loss came even though Barcelona took the lead early in the second half.
Yamal hit the post with his spot kick on the stroke of halftime but 14 minutes into the second period Pau Cubarsí met Jules Kounde's cross from the right and placed his header perfectly into the top corner.
The goal was Barcelona's 100th in all competitions this season and made it the second club in Europe's big five domestic leagues to hit the century after Bayern Munich.
However, Girona roared back into the game just three minutes later.
Barcelona's Joan Garcia was already the busier of the two goalkeepers but he could not stop Thomas Lemar side-footing home from close range after nice work from Vladyslav Vanat on the left wing.
Both sides pushed for a decisive second and it was Girona who executed with three minutes remaining, substitute Fran Beltrán scoring with a low shot from just inside the box.
Girona's Joel Roca was sent off in the dying seconds but there were no more goals.
The victory ended a three-game winless streak for Girona and lifted it three places into 12th, equal on points with Getafe.
Only seven points separate the 11 clubs from eighth to 18th in La Liga.
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Stopping Iran of greater importance than oil prices: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday said stopping the “evil empire” in Iran was of greater importance to him than oil prices, which have been ruling high since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28.
Iranian attacks on ships and oil infrastructure in West Asia have pushed crude prices above USD 100 a barrel.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Launched on February 28, Operation Epic Fury against Iran has divided political opinion in the US, with Democrats demanding public hearings with testimony from top Trump administration officials.
White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have held classified briefings with lawmakers since the attacks on Iran began. However, there have been claims that Trump has been sending mixed signals on the progress achieved in the war.
"Here we are well into the second week, and it is still the case that the Trump administration cannot explain the reasons that we entered this war, the goals we're trying to accomplish, and the methods for doing that," Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren was quoted as saying after a classified briefing.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X, accused the “left-wing media” of pushing a “fake narrative” about mixed messaging about the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
“From the beginning, President Trump and his entire team have consistently laid out clear objectives to the American people about what the US Military seeks to accomplish through these ongoing successful major combat operations,” Leavitt said.
“Destroy the terrorist Iranian regime’s missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. Annihilate the terrorist Iranian regime’s navy. Ensure the regime’s fellow terrorist proxies can no longer destabilise the region and attack our forces; Guarantee the terrorist Iranian regime cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said, spelling out the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
Extending support to the war, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday, the war could be "generational in terms of its impact."
“Not only for that region, but for the entire world, because they continued – Iran – to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They are on the way to nuclear capability, and they're holding that entire region hostage and American interests as well,” Thune said at a weekly press conference.
"So I think this was an important mission to accomplish, and hopefully it'll be accomplished soon,” Thune said.
