Girona beat Osasuna 2-0 on Saturday to move back into second place in La Liga, while Atletico Madrid fell further out of the top three with a shock defeat in Cadiz. Goals from Cristian Porto and Savinho in the opening 15 minutes moved Girona above Barcelona back into second place. “Getting three points at home is the most important thing to stay ahead,” defender Jan Couto said. “Thank you fans for your support.”
Girona dominated the early going against their 10th-placed opponent but were only given 13 minutes.
Viktor Tsygankov’s clever slide-rule pass set Porto free in the box, and the Spaniard’s first-time perfect shot put Girona on the way.
Tsygankov almost got his second assist three minutes after the break, but compatriot Artem Dovbik failed to finish in the penalty area.
Daley Blind came close to doubling Girona’s lead but his 12-year-old strike was thwarted by the Osasuna defence.
In the 85th minute, Savinho shot, but the goal was invalidated due to a foul by his teammate.
The Brazilian’s disappointment was short-lived, however, as he scored again two minutes later, this time successfully.
Miguel Gutierrez passed to Alex Garcia, whose back heel landed perfectly on the oncoming Savinho, who fired home with his left foot to extend the game to Osasuna.
“First Dangerous Situation”
Atletico Madrid came up against lowly Cadiz on the south coast, with Diego Simeone’s side suffering a 2-0 defeat.
A brace from on-loan Juanmi at half-time earned the 18th-placed Andalusian side a valuable three points and handed Atletico their seventh defeat of the season.
Atletico Madrid coach Simeone said: “The team started well, with enthusiasm and desire to create good things, but in the first dangerous situation, Cadiz found the goal and it was another different game. “
Atletico’s season has endured some turmoil, with the defeat coming after a two-legged defeat at the hands of Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and a 1-0 first-leg loss to Inter Milan in the Champions League last 16.
Spain international striker Juanmi headed home midway through the first half while unmarked in the penalty area, but he sealed victory with a scuffed shot just after the hour mark.
In the first quarter, there were a series of fouls on both sides, and neither side was able to enter the state.
In the 24th minute, Ruben Sobrino reached the sideline and his left-footed cross found Juanmi’s header, who scored from 5 yards out. Give Cadiz the lead.
Simeone replaced Memphis Depay and experienced midfielders Saul Niguez and Rodrigo De Paul at half-time, but to no avail.
Juanmi, on loan from Real Betis, was once again a key figure in the game.
In the 64th minute, he received a long pass from Xavi Hernandez and beat Jan Oblak with a messy but effective volley.
The result moves Cadiz closer to safety, temporarily closing the gap on 17th place to two points, with Atletico four points behind third-placed Girona.
Real Sociedad relied on late goals from Robin Lenormand and Andre Silva to come back and beat second-to-last Granada.
Myrto Uzuni gave the home side the lead twice in the first half, before negating Sadiq Umar’s equalizer just after the half-hour mark.
But Normandy scored to level the score in the 10th minute, and Silva launched an attack in the 85th minute to help the Basque side win 3-2.
Earlier, Valencia moved up to eighth after beating Getafe 1-0 at home five minutes before the break thanks to Hugo Duro’s clever finish.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
