Barcelona's 1-2 loss to Girona was marked by refereeing controversy and continued frustration as the woodwork once more denied the team crucial goals. The most painful moment came when Lamine Yamal stepped up to take a penalty and his effort struck the post and bounced away. Two minutes earlier Raphinha had also hit the woodwork.
Those incidents are part of a broader pattern this season: Barcelona have struck the post or crossbar 32 times — 25 in La Liga and five in the Champions League. The Champions League strikes did not cost them qualification for the round of 16, but in the Copa del Rey the woodwork was cruel in the semi-final against Atlético Madrid when Fermin Lopez appeared to pull one back only for his 20th-minute effort to hit the post while Atlético led 2-0. Across Europe’s top five leagues Barcelona top the unwanted list with 32 woodwork strikes, with Bayern Munich on 27. In La Liga they average roughly one woodwork hit per match (25 in 24 games). By player: Ferran Torres 6, Lamine Yamal 5; Dani Olmo, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford 4 each; Fermin Lopez 3; Robert Lewandowski and Eric Garcia 2 each; Jules Kounde and Marc Casado 1 each.
