- Girona beat Celta Vigo 1-0 on Sunday to leapfrog Real Madrid at the top of La Liga
- Cristian Portu scored the only goal of the match in the first half
The Celta Vigo vs Girona fixture turned out to be another opportunity for Girona to continue their impressive performance in La Liga this season. Girona, who had dropped to second place after Real Madrid beat Las Palmas on Saturday, reclaimed the top spot following the 1-0 victory at Celta Vigo. Michel’s side have 55 points, one above Real Madrid.
Cristian Portu scored the only goal of the Celta Vigo vs Girona match in the first half. Despite Celta Vigo dominating the match and even having several attempts, they couldn’t find a goal. Girona’s goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga made several saves to ensure his side walked away with all the three points.
Celta Vigo vs Girona. Photo/ New Straits Times.
Girona face Real Sociedad on Saturday as they prepare to clash with Real Madrid the following weekend in what could determine who stays comfortable at the top of the standings. Despite being in red-hot form this season, Girona were surprisingly knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Mallorca in midweek.
Celta Vigo Vs Girona
Following the 3-2 loss to Mallorca in Copa del Rey, Girona aimed at returning to winning ways as they travelled to Celta Vigo. The hosts started the game on top and almost opened the scoring inside 18 minutes had it not been for Gazzaniga’s effort to stop thunderous strike from Oscar Mingueza.
On the other end, Girona did what they know better in front of goal – scoring. Portu was just at the right place in the box to pounce on Miguel Gituerrez cutback and unleash an unstoppable strike that went past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Celta Vigo pushed for a leveller afterwards but were met by a superb Gazzaniga in post who wasn’t letting any shot go past him. The Argentine made an outstanding reflex save to stop a close range header off the cross bar from Jorgen Strand Larsen. He also denied Anastasios Douvikas twice when one-on-one in the first period.
Gazzaniga continued with his heroic performance after the restart, denying Luca de la Torre who was on a promising position. From there, Girona regained control of the Celta Vigo vs Girona fixture and successfully kept a clean sheet. On top of that, they walked away with all the three points.
Elsewhere, Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna. Sevilla had taken the lead in the first half but found themselves level after the break. The match’s referee sent off Suso in the last minutes of the game after his tackle on Osasuna’s Aimar Oroz.
In another La Liga match, Athletic Bilbao failed to continued their winning run as they were held to a goalless draw by Cadiz CF.
Michel Not Interested in Barcelona’s Job
Following Xavi Hernandez‘s announcement that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season, Michel was asked by the media if he could take over Xavi’s position at the Catalan club. The Girona manager responded by saying that he is focused with his project at Girona where he has a contract valid until 2026.
“I am focused on Girona. Xavi is the person who knows FC Barcelona best. I have a contract until 2026, so nothing. Xavi is Barca.” Michel said, as per ESPN.
Girona manager Michel is not interested in replacing Xavi at Barcelona. Photo/ FC Barcelona Noticias.
The 48-year-old also spoke of Girona’s title hopes saying: “I think the three points today bring us closer to qualifying for Europe. La Real [Sociedad] dropped points, Barca as well. Can we dream of reaching the Champions League? Let’s see after six more games when there are 10 to play. If we are in the race for the Champions League and close to this Real Madrid, maybe, but seeing how Madrid are playing, winning games easily, it’s going to be really hard.”
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