You can’t always win with jogo bonito, football exhibition and goal festival. In fields like Balaídos, with the grass in poor condition and a demanding opponent who is on the line, it is where titles are decided. To face the test in Vigo, Girona had to dress up as a worker and start chipping away at stones, and it didn’t hurt him to roll up his sleeves. With a practical game and a lot of skill, Montilivi’s men regained the lead thanks to a solitary goal from Porto and the saves of a providential Gazzaniga.
These arguments were enough for the leader of the League to add his 17th victory in 22 games and reach 55 points. A barbarity that keeps the white-and-reds in their Kinton cloud, and allows them to catch their breath for the Tourmalet that is approaching them: Real Sociedad at home, Real Madrid at the Bernabéu and Athletic at San Mamés, in 16 days.
“It’s a very good test to be leaders again, in a very complicated field, which was not in the best conditions and this hurts the game a lot. We kept a clean sheet [after three consecutive games conceding goals], we did a good job. Mentally, the team has been very good to play in a field that is not at all easy”, commented Míchel Sánchez, the coach of Girona, who is one of the favorites in Barcelona to replace Xavi Hernández, due to the sense of the offensive game with which has permeated Girona, top scorer in the League.
Although it didn’t show much in Vigo yesterday, the football of the white-and-reds was pragmatic and effective, although it started with its usual avalanche of play, phases of madness with those incisive dynamics of block attacks, that distances Girona from any team in the Spanish League. So, in 10 minutes of acceleration he enjoyed excellent opportunities through Yangel Herrera with a great shot that went high after controlling with his chest (m. 10), a header from Dóvbik ( m. 12) to a cross from Savinho on the left that Guaita saved, and another shot by the Ukrainian striker that the Valencian goalkeeper stopped. They were the warning of Porto’s 0-1, at 20 minutes. In an attack from the left, Miguel Gutiérrez saw the arrival of the forward from Murcia, who received, with the oriented control went away from the defender and scored with a shot at the short post. Just three minutes later, Portu made it 0-2, but missed a Dóvbik cross by a few centimeters.
He was able to sentence Girona by prolonging that offensive wave, but Tsigankov sent his shot up (m. 25) after a brilliant play with Dóvbik’s pass in space to his countryman.
And from enjoying the offensive festival to suffering the worst was a matter of five minutes. Celta were not intimidated by the push of the Catalans and enjoyed the best chances in two spurts in which Gazzaniga had to appear to save Girona. Strand Larsen headed in a cross from Mingueza – he did it by climbing over his defender – which the Argentinian goalkeeper rubbed with his fingertips to deflect the ball onto the crossbar. And a minute later, Douvikas, after winning the run very quickly, ran into a great Gazzaniga who took the ball away from him.
Celta tried again with a header from Starfelt combing the ball in a corner (m. 35), but it went over the crossbar, and in a soft finish by Douvikas (m. 39) in the hands of Gazzaniga. That’s where Celta’s gas practically ran out, who barely disturbed a Girona team in the second half who had enough to control the game to secure three points that keep them as leaders, now with 1 point more than Madrid and 11 more than Barça (the two with one game less, who recover this week).
