Substitute PedrI scores in Barcelona's 1-0 win over Girona in his 100th appearance

Substitute PedrI scores in Barcelona's 1-0 win over Girona in his 100th appearance

GIRONA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pedri celebrated his 100th game for Barcelona by scoring from close range in the second half to give the La Liga leaders a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Girona on Saturday.

The 20-year-old scored in the 61st minute after the goalkeeper failed to hold a cross from Jordi Alba, after a series of other mistakes by the Girona defense.

Barcelona is on top with 47 points, six ahead of rival Real Madrid, which has one game in hand and will take third place against Real Sociedad on Sunday. Girona is 12th with 21 points.

With Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres suspended and midfielder Pedri recovering, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez chose to rotate his team on this cold afternoon in Montilivi.

He rested key players Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde, while former Manchester City defender Eric Garcia started for the first time in over three months.

Pedri was forced into action earlier than expected, however, after Ousmane Dembele was replaced in the 25th minute with what appeared to be a muscle injury.

Despite having nearly 70% of the ball in the first half, Barcelona struggled to break through against Girona's low block.

It wasn't until the 40th minute that Barca got their first shot on goal when Pedri's timid shot was easily saved by the goalkeeper.

Girona was remarkably disciplined in defense, staying compact in a deep position and comfortably defending the space in front of the goal to frustrate Barcelona's attackers.

Pedri finally broke the deadlock when goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga failed to connect with a low cross, allowing the Barca midfielder to score freely at the back post.

An Arnau Martinez attempt was rejected in the 65th minute and in the 88th minute, Ivan Martin missed a golden opportunity to equalize.

Barcelona finished the game with only three shots on target, after having their only clear-cut chance.

In an offensively critical situation and without top scorers, Barcelona turned to pedrey to ensure that it reached La Liga halfway ahead of Real Madrid in the title hunt. Pedrey celebrated his 100th match for Barcelona at the age of 20 by scoring as a substitute to beat Girona 1-0 on Saturday. 

The Spanish midfielder, who became one of the pillars of the post-Lionel Messi reconstruction under the leadership of Xavi, became the second youngest player in the history of the club to reach the century mark in the matches he played. Girona dominated the league lead until pedrey's substitute Jordi Alba found him with a low cross from close range in the 61st minute. 

Bedri, who won the Copa Cup and the Golden Boy award in 2021 for the continent's most promising Under-21 player, has scored six times this season, including the only goal in the victory over Getafe in the last round.