Effectiveness makes the difference
The team dominates and generates good chances, but fails to find the goal and the three points slip away.
Girona 0-1 Villarreal
Girona were held scoreless by Villarreal and conceded their second defeat of the season at Montilivi. Girona dominated the game and created clear chances to get a better result, but a Traoré goal at the start of the second half penalised a team that tried until the end. Effectiveness fell on Villarreal's side, and Míchel Sánchez's side lacked the accuracy and a little bit of luck to score.
Equality prevails in the first half
Villarreal started threatening in the opening minutes, but Dovbyk and Yangel Herrera reacted with two clear chances. The best of the first half came from Tsygankov, who on the half hour mark took advantage of a good run by Sávio to fire a cross-shot just wide of the post. Dovbyk again, from a through ball, came up against the goalkeeper. Girona took the lead, who dominated the ball and played in the opposition half against a much more vertical Villarreal side.
🧤 Paulo Gazzaniga! 😍#GironaVillarreal | #LaLigaHighlights | @LaLiga pic.twitter.com/ZhfUvJAzLY
— Girona FC (@GironaFC) May 14, 2024
Effectiveness makes the difference
Villarreal were much more effective than Míchel's men, and in one of their few chances they scored. They took advantage of an attacking transition which, after Guedes had been driven forward, Traoré picked up inside the box and crossed the ball in to break the deadlock. The equaliser could have come just after, because Tsygankov again had the best chance. The Ukrainian cut inside and unleashed a curling shot that crashed against the crossbar. The team came close again with a double strike from Aleix García's free-kick, but the Castellón players avoided it on the line. The Red and Whites never stopped believing and did their best to score, but this time it wasn't possible.
The statistics
Girona had control of the ball and played in the opposition half. Míchel Sánchez's men had some good chances, and against a defensive opponent, they also tried several shots from distance. The Red and Whites were more insistent in attack, but the visitors made the most of the breakaways to get forward at speed, and that's how they found the net.
David Lopez's reaction
David López explained after the game that the team were hurt by the defeat and for not having been able to go one step further. Even so, he remarked that they played a fluid game and that they tried until the end, and he also highlighted the great year they have had: ‘The fact that it was the second home defeat of the season says a lot about the season we have had’. Girona had not lost at Montilivi since 30 September, eight months ago, against Real Madrid.
