Girona loses to Mallorca and ignites the bottom of the table

Girona cannot breathe easy. At Montilivi, the Catalan team lost by a narrow margin to Mallorca, their direct rival for survival, and ignites the bottom of the table (0-1). The team led by Míchel suffered from not having the ball in the first half, and although they tried with Joel Roca pushed forward in attack, Mallorca controlled the rhythm and took the lead with a goal from Samu Costa. Although Girona had the equalizer in their hands in the second half, their opportunities slipped away against a Leo Román who saved his team’s victory. Again, the lack of finishing from the Catalan side leaves them in trouble, with both teams tied at 38 points, and Girona two places above the relegation zone, and Mallorca three.

GIRGirona

0

Paulo Gazzaniga, Alejandro Francés, Arnau Martínez, Daley Blind (Hugo Rincón, min. 73), Vitor Reis, Axel Witsel, Viktor Tsygankov, Joel Roca (Bryan Gil, min. 69), Fran Beltrán (Thomas Lemar, min. 73), Azzedine Ounahi and Claudio Echeverri (Cristhian Stuani, min. 69)

MLLMallorca

1

Leo Román, Pablo Maffeo, Johan Mojica, Martin Valjent, Omar Mascarell, Manu Morlanes (Javi Llabrés, min. 77), Pablo Torre (Zito Luvumbo, min. 65), Sergi Darder (David López, min. 78), Samú Costa, Justin Kalumba (Jan Virgili, min. 45) and Vedat Muriqi

Goals 0-1 min. 42: Samuel Costa

Referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso

Yellow cards Tsygankov (min. 45), Maffeo (min. 57), Vitor Reis (min. 63), Mojica (min. 81), Lemar (min. 93), Bryan Gil Salvatierra (min. 94)

Girona struggled to recognize themselves without the ball. Although the statistics showed balanced possession during the first 45 minutes, the feeling on the pitch was different. Mallorca imposed a high tempo and controlled the initiative. Despite this, the clearest chances at the start were for the Catalan side, who knew how to exploit transitions and the spaces left by their opponent’s advanced pressing. The danger came mainly from the left, where Maffeo struggled against Joel Roca, who took on the offensive burden, stirred the attack, and created the first chance with a run that Tsygankov finished with a deflected shot. In the same vein, Echeverri, positioned as Girona’s number nine, also came close to scoring but faced a quick response from Leo Román in a one-on-one.

But Mallorca did not give in. They intensified the pressure and scared again with a shot from Muriqi that Vitor Reis saved on the line. Without control of the game, Girona lost footing in the final stretch of the first half. A cross from Mojica that Samu Costa, completely alone in the area due to Blind’s disappearance, headed confirmed the initial feelings.

To reverse this, Girona gained depth and also tried down Tsygankov’s right wing. On one of his runs, he put in a low cross that Joel Roca sent against the post. Just three minutes later, Ounahi — who still hasn’t fully regained his shine despite returning to the attacking midfield — smashed another shot against the woodwork. The Girona team insisted and insisted, now with Stuani’s instinct on the pitch and fueled by Montilivi, but they ran into Mallorca’s resistance and Leo Román’s firmness, who held his team amid the storm.

Standings

Position	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
14 ELC	38	33	9	11	13
15 MLL	38	34	10	8	16
16 GIR	38	34	9	11	14
17 ALA	36	33	9	9	15
18 SEV	34	33	9	7	17

Position	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
13 ESP	39	33	10	9	14
14 ELC	38	33	9	11	13
15 MLL	38	34	10	8	16
16 GIR	38	34	9	11	14
17 ALA	36	33	9	9	15