MADRID, 11 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Girona FC beat FC Barcelona this Sunday at the Estadi Lluís Companys (2-4) in a match in which Míchel's team once again showed that they are one of the fittest teams on the European scene and that they have reasons to believe in fighting for the LaLiga EA Sports title against Real Madrid, Barça and Atlético de Madrid, with a victory that makes them the sole leaders of the competition after 16 days played.
In one of the most important places in national football, Girona presented, if it had not already done so, its credentials to be taken very seriously in the fight for the LaLiga EA Sports title. The 'Gironí' team not only managed to beat Barça for the first time in its history, but they did so by attacking the Blaugrana fiefdom based on good football. Míchel's men surpassed Xavi's with the style that Barcelona likes so much.
In a power-to-power match in which the exchange of blows between both teams was constant, the rojiblancos emerged victorious. Against Barça, Girona proposed an atypical match for a team, in principle, weaker when visiting the Blaugrana fiefdom. Míchel and his Girona wanted things to happen. In total, in the match both teams shot 46 times (31 for Barça and 15 for Girona), with 11 'culers' shots going between the three sticks and 7 for the 'gironins'. A figure that makes this Sunday's Catalan derby the game so far in LaLiga with the most shots.
Furthermore, Girona's victory at the Lluís Companys shows the degree of competitiveness that Míchel's team has achieved at this point in the season. Beyond the points, the Catalans are a team whose only spot in LaLiga is the defeat in Montilivi against Real Madrid (0-3), which was their only defeat in the competition. However, in complicated fields such as the Reale Arena, Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sadar or La Cerámica they have proven to be a reliable team. In fact, the rojiblancos are the best visitor in the five major leagues with 22 points achieved away from home.
To their notable away numbers we must add the usual scoring success that the Catalan team has experienced since the start of the season. After the 4 goals scored against FC Barcelona, which had not conceded so many goals at home since November 2018, Girona has once again placed itself at the top of the top scoring teams in LaLiga with 38 goals, also being the team of the 5 major leagues that have scored the most goals so far this season as a visitor (20).
Furthermore, another good news for Girona is the performance of the players from the bench. Against Barça, both Stuani and Valery, authors of Girona's last two goals, took to the pitch as replacements. In total, in the 16 League matches that have been played, Girona is the team with the most goals scored by its substitutes, having scored a total of 8 goals -Stuani (4), Portu, Dovbyk, Valery and Tsygankov (1).
Regarding the quality of their leadership, only 5 leaders in LaLiga history had more points than Girona (41) this season at this point in the competition. They have copied the start of the season for Atlético de Madrid in 2020-21 and for FC Barcelona last year, and both teams ended up lifting the League title. In total, there have been 9 league leaders at this point with that score or higher, and of them 7 won the title and the remaining 3 finished the competition in second place.
DEFENSIVE SOLIDITY THE ONLY BUT
In recent seasons, the LaLiga champion has been characterized, among other virtues, by having great defensive solidity. Both Barcelona in 22-23, Atlético de Madrid in 20-21, and Real Madrid in 19-20 were the teams with the fewest goals scored. Even in the white team's title in the 2021-22 season, Carlo Ancelotti's team averaged less than one goal conceded per game, leaving it just 1 goal behind Sevilla in being the team that conceded the least in that League.
However, Girona 23-24 is having a hard time not conceding in its games. So far, Míchel's men have conceded 20 goals in 16 games, 10 more than the team with the fewest goals scored in the competition, Real Madrid. In fact, up to 7 teams have conceded fewer goals than the LaLiga leader EA Sports. A problem that is even more aggravated in the clean sheets section, having achieved only 4 of 16 games, a figure surpassed by up to 10 teams.