After 17 minutes, Lamine Yamal was sent through one-on-one with deputy goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and he sent his effort straight at the ex-Tottenham stopper, after Raphinha had dragged an equally presentable chance wide.
Barca had multiple chances to take the lead before Girona striker Vladyslav Vanet sprung the offside trap and forced an excellent save from Garcia, in what was a warning shot across the Barca bow.
And Vanat should have scored midway through the half when Bryan Gil whipped in a devilish delivery from the left flank, only to see the Ukraine international fail to make any contact.
On the stroke of half-time, Raphinha slammed an effort against the post, before Dani Olmo was brought down by Daley Blind in the area, leading to a penalty; Yamal stepped up and hit the post.
On the hour, Barca finally had their way through, as Pau Cubarsi scored a truly sensational header, finding the top corner from Jules Kounde's cross. It was the defender's first-ever league goal for the club.
But within a minute, Girona were level thanks to Thomas Lemar's close-range tap-in, after Cubarsi failed to clear the ball effectively.
Girona appeared a side transformed thereafter and Garcia was required to keep Barca's lead intact, until he was finally beaten by Fran Beltran in the 87th minute. A VAR review followed, and it appeared as though the referee would rule the goal out for a foul on Jules Kounde in the build-up, but the official gave the goal instead, to the fury of the Barca bench.
Barca thought they had a late equaliser but Robert Lewandowski was ruled offside, as Girona sprung a huge shock in La Liga's title race.
GOAL rates Barca's players from Montilivi...
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