Already relegated, Real Valladolid loses against Girona in Laliga
A narrow victory in Valladolid with a goal from their star and safety almost assured.
Álvaro Rubio said in the preview that he was “convinced we can win some of the remaining matches.” He’ll have to wait because Girona, backed by their usual support, Stuani, are almost mathematically secured in the First Division with a goal in the 80th minute.
Míchel returned after the tantrum, without Yangel and Krejci due to suspension, and without Stuani in the starting lineup. Opposite him, Iago Parente , a 19-year-old defender from Promesas and an international, was making his debut for Pucela, with Latasa up front for the goal.
The first ten minutes were a drag, until Valladolid threaded a ball out worthy of the best Barcelona champions, Grillitsch’s pass was as quick as a scalpel to Moro , who tried to cross the ball for a superb goal, but it went wide. In the second half, Oriol Romeu tested Hein from 20 yards out but found the usual goalkeeper safely down low. The Estonian returned after eight matches away and saved the team in the first half.
In the 15th minute, Chuki took advantage of a long throw-in with a poor clearance from David López to create another difficult shot for Gazzaniga . A pure nerve that lasted only 22 minutes before he went down injured. Girona were inaccurate and nervous, especially Asprilla, who was losing the ball, but the plan, which overwhelmed the home side with a thousand passes, paid off in the 19th minute when Portu scored his first goal of the year… but it was just offside.
Girona began to get going with Arthur helping Asprilla and Tsygankov , and the Ukrainian had a chance to make it 1-0 after a shot from the corner following a good combination. Portu , alone on the edge of the box, had another chance in the 30th minute after a personal move by Abel Ruiz, but he sent it wide of Zorrilla.
Iván Sánchez was the one who stood in the way of this dominance, with dangerous crosses and a shot that flew over the bar, but little else. The visitors were much more of a threat, again with a low pass from Asprilla that found no finisher in the 32nd minute. In the 35th minute, it was Tsygankov , with a left-footed shot from inside the box after a swift counterattack, who found the best Hein with a diving save… a monologue until the end of the first half, although without reward. Asprilla had a chance in the 45th minute, one-on-one with Hein, but he liked Portu’s move and sent Zorrilla’s shot wide as well.
MORE OF THE SAME
The second half started in the same way, with high pressure from Girona, who couldn’t get a draw, and with Asprilla going one on one after a move by the recently substituted Francés, a low shot and a tremendous save with the heel of Hein in the 47th minute.
And yet, the best chance fell to Anuar in the 55th minute, following a great stretch run by Latasa after Iván’s steal, who fired a shot against the crossbar after Gazzaniga’s miraculous deflection. The penalty came from the corner, but only Quintero saw it, and VAR corrected it, in a decision that seemed fair. Did it serve as a wake-up call for Girona?
Well, he stretched a little more, but very imprecisely, a moment that Álvaro Rubio chose to make three changes in one go (Aznou, Sylla and Alani) seeing the team somewhat tired and Míchel responded by putting in all his gunpowder: Danjuma and Stuani .
Valladolid dug deep in defense with two lines of five to wait for a counterattack, and Girona had to attack statically, pivoting around Melo. A foul on the midfielder miraculously ended up being cleared by David López, a great center-back who was very calm because he had the clairvoyance to look across and see Stuani alone. What happened? He scored his tenth goal of the season, with a strong whiff of permanence. Seven points have come directly from his work, tremendous at 39 years of age.
Since this season is Girona’s season of suffering, Valladolid was bound to have one, even if it was for the sake of honor. They had it, a point-blank shot from Mario Martín, after a pass from the ever-present Iván Sánchez, that Gazzaniga, like the superb goalkeeper he is—half positioning, half reflexes—pulled over the line. And that was it. Valladolid pressed with more force than faith, and Girona suffered with the clearances, but they celebrated a crucial victory like a title.
