Girona will not forget the 99th minute of the match played last Friday in Mendizorroza when they won 1-2 against Alavés. Yan Couto lay on the court for a while, a couple of minutes were lost, the referee wound up the clock and in the last play Guridi tied. That goal was fateful for Míchel’s team because they conceded two points and later made it possible for Barcelona to overtake them for second place in the League standings. The misfortune continued yesterday when they lost a very well-played match against Villarreal. The scoreboard has become stingy with a team that has distinguished itself by being the second highest scorer in competition with the champion Madrid. Dovbyk (20 goals) and Sorloth (19) did not score this time in the top scorer duel, but Traoré’s surprise decided.
0
Gazzaniga, David López, Daley Blind, Miguel Gutierrez (Valery Fernández, min. 74), Eric Garcia, Iván Martín, Sávio, Aleix García, Yangel Herrera (Portu, min. 74), Tsygankov (Toni Villa, min. 82) and Dovbyk
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Jorgensen, Jorge Cuenca (Ramón Terrats, min. 65), Yerson Mosquera, Kiko Femenía, Eric Bailly, Comesaña (Capoue, min. 81), Álex Baena (Trigueros, min. 92), Parejo, Bertrand Traoré (Morales, min. 80), Sörloth and Gonçalo Guedes (Ilias Chakkour, min. 65)
Goals 0-1 min. 58: Bertrand Traoré.
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez
Yellow cards Daley Blind (min. 36), Kiko Femenía (min. 40), Álex Baena (min. 43), Bertrand Traoré (min. 55) and Ramón Terrats (min. 93)
It is not easy to defend Marcelino’s team, especially for a team as attacking as Girona. The yellow transitions are very fast and vertical due to the dynamism of their forwards and the punch of Sorloth. Míchel’s boys needed to ensure possession of the ball, finish the plays and increase tension and surveillance in the Gazzaniga area. The contrast of the contenders ensured an interesting match in Montilivi. Although they had the ball and combined patiently, the red and white team took a while to reach finishing positions against Jorgensen. Savinho, Girona’s most aggressive and damaging player, had not just come into play, and Tsygankov had not taken off either. The team took a while to adjust the scores after a couple of very worthy arrivals from Villarreal, one of Guedes very clear that Sorloth narrowly missed.
Already sitting on the field, half an hour after the match started, Girona grew non-stop, supported by some good changes of orientation that forced Villarreal’s zonal defense to constantly shift. Savinho began to face, diabolical with his changes of pace, and Tsygankov and Dovbyk finished well against Jorgensen. The mobility and pressure of the white and red team forced Villarreal to retreat, much to the chagrin of Marcelino. Jorgensen’s fouls on the edge of the area continued because none of the full-backs could handle Savinho. Gazzaniga, on the other hand, was able to relax because Villarreal’s counterattacks decreased. The task of containing the defenders and the midfielders was as interesting as the work of Míchel’s forwards. Although there were no goals, the game was beautiful and intense, and also uncertain due to the poison that Marcelino’s teams carry.
The Asturian coach corrected his team during the break and Villarreal tried to regain control of the match with better pressure and also faster movement of the ball to slow down Girona’s offensive. Although sometimes they were too fond of technical gestures, the red and white team did not stop accelerating the game without finding the final pass and Dovbyk’s final shot. Despite the individual quality of many players from both teams, there were no chances in a tactically very interesting, contested and open match, until Traoré’s goal arrived. Sorloth and Guedes teamed up as best they could on the left wing, Girona’s centre-backs missed the rebound and the ball was loose for Traoré’s cross shot. Although they were playing well, the white and red team found themselves with a goal down and with the rival goal closed due to the desperation of Montilivi.
The crossbar returned a shot from Tsygankov and, immediately afterwards, neither Eric, nor David López nor Savinho managed to close a goal play after three consecutive shots against the outmatched Jorgensen. Míchel took a while to activate the change wheel because his team played in a balanced and fluid manner, nothing to reproach, the white and red team being penalized by Traoré’s goal. Although he gave a thousand thoughts to the game, tireless in harassing Jorgensen’s area, Girona could not withstand the Machiavellian Villarreal. The defense deployed by Marcelino exhausted and unnerved Míchel’s boys, who ended up asking for a penalty in a play previously annulled by the referee when even Gazzaniga was in the opposing area.
Girona lacked pause and clairvoyance in the final play to finish off a match that matured well in terms of football against an opponent as tough as Villarreal. The score penalized the white and red team and smiled at Barça in their fight for the runners-up spot and the Super Cup. The Blaugrana have a one-point cushion waiting for their appointment on Thursday in Almería. Girona does not stop turning in Mendizorroza’s 99th minute. There he knew that he was changing his happiness in the League.
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