Girona vs Slovan Bratislava
The team has the opportunity to get its first Champions League victory in front of the fans.
Looking for the first European victory
Montilivi is getting ready to live another very special night. Girona faces the third matchday with the ambition of opening the points against a Slovan Bratislava that has also failed to win in either of the first two games, and that also debuts in the Champions League this season. Míchel Sánchez's men will have to overcome a plague of injuries that has left them without nine first team players, but the illusion of being able to achieve the first victory in the highest continental competition in front of the fans comes before everything else. Slovan Bratislava go into the game having scored just one goal and conceded nine after losses to Celtic (5-1) and Manchester City (0-4). In the Slovakian league, however, they are second, just one point behind the leaders, and have won eight of their first ten games.
SK Slovan Bratislava's own names
The captain of Slovan Bratislava is an old acquaintance of the Spanish league. He is Vladimir Weiss, who played for Espanyol in the 2011/12 season, scoring two goals in 28 games. He also played duels in the first division in Italy and England, even making his debut with Manchester City's first team as a youngster. An international with his country's national team, he has been playing for his hometown club for the past four seasons, where his father, Vladimir Weiss, is the coach. At the press conference beforehand, he praised Girona's great last season and praised the current squad, while explaining that for them, too, every matchday in the competition is historic. Strelec, Tolic and Mak are the team's top scorers with three goals, followed by Kucka, Barseghyan and Weiss himself with two. Kucka and Mak, however, two of their mainstays, are injured.
See you tomorrow at Montilivi! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/dOvaql80AW
— Girona FC (@GironaFC) October 21, 2024
“Every Champions League match is historic and tomorrow it will be again”
Míchel Sánchez wanted to emphasize the value of playing in Europe's top competition. Despite not having started with the desired results, the coach insisted that “I don't want to tiptoe around this competition. It has cost us a lot to get here. Far from lamenting the avalanche of absentees, he explained that he sees players who are ready to compete at the highest level, and praised Slovan Bratislava: “Any opponent is difficult. I have seen very good things from Slovan. It is a team that usually has possession and they are very physical”. He also appealed to the fans because “we need them,” he said.
Juvenil A wants to consolidate the passage to the round of sixteen
Sergi Mora's boys have the opportunity to make history and certify their passage to the round of 32 of the competition. The team's start has been unbeatable, with victories against PSG and Feyenoord, and this year they host a Bratislava team that is bottom with zero points. Even so, the demands of the competition are high in every match and the Girona team also loses important players who are called up to the first team.
