Gerona is back?! We confidently take Barça out of second place and get closer to Real Madrid
Georgy Ilyushchenko February 27, 2024, 01:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
A boring first half against Rayo Vallecano gave way to a brilliant second half.
February is going very badly for Girona: defeats against Real (0-4) and Athletic (2-3), a goalless draw with Sociedad. If before many dreamed of their championship, now there are much fewer conversations of this type. The home game against Rayo Vallecano could have improved the situation a little. And he corrected it.
Before the match in Girona a downpour fell, a harbinger of sticky football, as well as a large number of single combats, throws and long shots. Not in vain, at the beginning of the match De Thomas even tried to shoot from the center of the field; In the expected goals statistics, the attempt was estimated at 0.01 xG. The rain continued unabated. Fans wrapped themselves in raincoats and some pranksters even donned swimming masks.
The locals had more possession of the ball: 60% in the first half. The guests tried to fight back. However, the first moment, if Savio’s offside pass is not taken into account, had to wait a long time. After the first third of the match, the teams, as if announcing the imminent return of the RPL and greeting Pari NN and Baltika, scored 0.03 xG between them. Falcao, sitting on the Rayo bench, was probably sad and remembered how he scored many goals against Porto and Atlético. His previous performance would have been helpful here.
The complete broadcast of the Spanish Primera match and the best moments are available on Okko.
The referee not only did not add anything, but even sent the players to rest a few seconds before the end of the 45th minute. The SofaScore ratings are indicative: at that time only one player had achieved a decent score above 7.0 : Vallecano midfielder Crespu (7.2), who intercepted a lot of balls. The only interesting episode, with 0.18 xG, was organized by Girona at the end of the half, when one of the defenders blocked Herrera’s shot.
Girona – Rayo Vallecano – 3:0
Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
The break encouraged the locals: after leaving the locker room they almost scored. No one kept Dovbik right in front of the door. Couto crossed from the right wing, but the forward missed the ball. Here you have the third top scorer in La Liga. A little later, Tsygankov made peace with his compatriot and twice got into an attacking position: Dimitrievski shot the first attempt from an acute angle, and the second from the low penalty line into the far corner turned out to be a goal. . Before that, López threw it to Gutiérrez, who returned it to Víctor. Great combination.
Then Dovbik had a new opportunity and, following a pass from Tsygankov himself, he shot the side over the goal. And then Porto scored with a header, but first the ball went out of bounds. It was 58 minutes. Can you imagine how Michel accused his boys during the break of making his game change so much?
“Girona” sample from the first half: newborn kittens. “Girona” of the second sample – saber-toothed tigers. And, in fact, real contenders for medals.
Girona celebrates a goal against Rayo
Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
Porto could have scored more with his heel: the shot went wide. Rayo responded with a dangerous penetrating pass from Luiz that Camello wasted with a weak puncture. And then Chavarría got two yellow cards in one minute (!), although he barely entered the field: for stepping on Couta’s foot and slapping García. All this, in front of someone else’s area. Well, isn’t he a genius? The visitors already played poorly and in the 76th minute they were still in the minority.
The match could have ended, but we still recorded the remaining episodes at the Vallecana gate:
Substitute Stuani headed in from close range and Dimitrievski came to the rescue. Herrera’s shot was deflected off the post, Savio, in true Robben style, moved from the right wing and deftly fired his left right into the corner. It’s 2:0, Solís finished from close range and tested Dimitrievski’s reaction. It turned out to be fine, Savio calmly entered the area, dribbled past Espino and rolled elegantly into the far corner. 3:0!
Compare the expected goals statistics of the two halves: overall 0.23 xG vs 2.25 xG (1.81 for the home team and 0.44 for the away team). A big difference. Girona moved ahead of Barcelona by two points, returned to second place and is once again six points behind Real Madrid. It is too early to bury the intrigue in Spain.
This day of La Liga is over. This was the previous one:
Unexpected failures of the leaders and the drama of the outsider of the championship. La Liga tour results
