The Girona of Michel Sanchez this Sunday overcame a 0-2 loss to end up beating the Almería (5-2), bottom of LaLiga EA Sports, feed the European dream and become co-leader along with Real Madrid after ten days, with an extraordinary balance of 25 points out of a possible 30.
In Míchel’s 100th game as a red and white, the Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk, with a double, Iván Martín, the Brazilian Sávio Moreira and the Uruguayan Cristhian Stuani gave the victory to Girona, which has already added more than half of the 49 points of the last season. Montilivi ended up making the wave, surrendered to the great surprise of European football.
The team of debutant Gaizka Garitano took the lead with two goals from the Brazilian Léo Baptistao, but they ended up reaping their seventh defeat and will continue at the bottom for another week, with only three points and zero wins in ten games.
Almería, with a total of seven changes in the eleven, started the match with one more gear, against a lethargic Girona, and found the prize before the second minute was up: Baptistao, very heeled, already close to the line in the background, he finished off a pass from Lucas Robertone and Paulo Gazzaniga finished putting the ball into their goal in their attempt to deflect it.
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Shortly after, the Argentine goalkeeper had to stretch to deny a strong free-kick from Adrián Embarba. The ball lasted little, almost nothing, for Girona, surprised, very dense: without success and without speed in the combination.
They tied in the 9th minute through Iván Martín and after a free kick, but Ortiz Arias disallowed the goal due to offside by Èric García in the assist. Girona, gray in the associative game, only managed to cause concern with set pieces: the Venezuelan Yangel Herrera and David López had the goal in their boots.
The growing local team dominated the game completely, while Almería lost time, and it seemed that the score was 1-1 sooner or later, but it was 0-2. It was in the 24th minute and the result of a very serious error by Herrera, when he gave the ball directly to an opponent. Gazzaniga deflected the shot Adrián Embarba, who had directed only to the goal, but Baptistao collected his rebound and scored his second goal of the game and of the season.
Girona, frustrated, regained its momentum in the 37th minute, with a beautiful pass from Aleix García behind the defense so that Iván Martín stood alone against Fernando Martínez, Almería’s third goalkeeper to date, and closed the gap with a tight shot to the club.
Iván Martín’s goal started six minutes of madness in Montilivi, with Dovbyk as the protagonist: first he equalized after a beautiful combination with the Dutchman Daley Blind in the area and then he completed the comeback after shaping up wonderfully until finding a space to put together his powerful shot. The Ukrainian already has five goals.
Almería, so sober in the first half hour, collapsed and was plagued by the weakness and defensive fragility of this entire start of the season: they have already conceded more than 25 goals in ten games. The second half began as the first ended, with the Girona comfortable and in the rival field.
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In the 67th minute of the match, flatter and lacking chances in the second half, Montilivi stood up to dismiss Dovbyk, relieved by Stuani, and in the 71st minute he got up again to score 4-2, the work of Sávio after the umpteenth assist of a Aleix García omnipresent.
Sávio picked up the ball, ran to leave the defenders behind and scored with a shot that ended up in the net after passing under Fernando’s arm.
One more goal would still come, in the 85th minute:: Arnau Martínez received a remote-controlled pass from Aleix García, the best of the match, and crossed into the small area for Cristhian Stuani to make it 5-2.
