Former Middlesbrough striker runs rings around Pique as Barca drop first points of season

The Spanish champions were given a scare in the Nou Camp on Sunday night

Though Barcelona will have been left disappointed with a 2-2 draw at home to Girona, it could very easily have been worse for them. Having won their opening four games of the new La Liga season, Barca appeared on course to maintain their 100% start when Lionel Messi gave them the lead with just under 20 minutes played. https://twitter.com/ElevenSports_UK/status/1043940785312403457 This, however, was not the case. A red card for Clement Lenglet ten minutes from half-time complicated matters for Ernesto Valverde's side, who conceded an equaliser to Cristhian Stuani just before the break. https://twitter.com/ElevenSports_UK/status/1043944667132416000 https://twitter.com/ElevenSports_UK/status/1043947454872342528 Things got worse early in the second half when Stuani, who played for Middlesbrough between 2015 and 2017, added his and Girona's second of the night. https://twitter.com/ElevenSports_UK/status/1043953850259054598 Gerard Pique was partly to blame for both Girona goals, but was able to get Barca back on level terms with less than half an hour to play. https://twitter.com/ElevenSports_UK/status/1043956913929695234 Despite having only ten men, Barcelona finished the game with better possession figures and having created more chances than Girona. They were not, however, able to find a third goal, dropping their first points of the season as a result. They return to La Liga action in midweek with a trip to Leganes before next Saturday's game at home to Athletic Bilbao. A trip to Wembley, where they will face Tottenham in the Champions League, follows this.