Girona could not get past a draw this Wednesday against Rayo Vallecano in Montilivi (0-0), in a match on the third day of LaLiga EA Sports in which Míchel Sánchez’s team deserved the victory due to its superiority and its chances clear goal.
Girona, hampered by the lack of aim, improved its image compared to the defeats against Barcelona (1-4), Paris Saint-Germain (1-0) and Valencia (2-0), but tied the third match without scoring and the fourth game without achieving victory. The red and white team continues to be far from the version that impressed European football, with a brilliant and historic third position in LaLiga that has allowed it to debut in the Champions League.
Rayo, for its part, suffered, but managed to scratch a valuable point and chain a new joy, after the victory against Osasuna (3-1) and the draw against Atlético de Madrid (1-1).
Míchel put on stage a much more recognizable eleven with the return of Arnau Martínez, David López, Miguel Gutiérrez, Viktor Tsygankov and Iván Martín, unprecedented in the unexpected defeat against Valencia, and Girona took over the initiative and possession ( 69% at half-time). But he harassed the lack of speed in the pass to create spaces so that Tsygankov, Yáser Asprilla and Bryan Gil could show off their imbalance.
The lack of fluidity in the associative game is, at this beginning of the season, the great mole of Míchel’s team, which is noticing the departure of Aleix García to Leverkusen and is being incisive in attack.
If last season Girona was the second highest scoring team in the championship (85), this season they are struggling to create danger and worry opposing defenses. As the minutes passed, Rayo, comfortable at the back at the beginning, even advanced lines because they did not feel too attacked, although without threatening Paulo Gazzaniga.
The Vallecano team tried to gain time with each interruption, against a frustrated rival who, when it seemed like they could get close to Augusto Batalla, failed in the last or penultimate pass. Like in a Yáser Asprilla boarding school half an hour into the meeting. Pep Chavarría was injured while trying to chase him and Íñigo Pérez brought on Jorge de Frutos and undid his double winger on the right wing, with Ivan Balliu and Andrei Ratiu.
The change coincided with the awakening of a growing Girona, which in the final stretch of the first half made merit to achieve the 1-0 through Asprilla, the most expensive signing in its entire history. But the young Colombian attacker forgave Rayo on two occasions. First, alone on the edge of the small area, he missed a cross from Miguel Gutiérrez from the left by finishing over the crossbar. It was a goal.
And immediately afterwards he failed to control a pass from Viktor Tsygankov behind the defense that left him alone against Batalla.
The first shot on goal of the game, thick in the first half, did not come until the second minute of the second half: a free kick from Tsygankov without much power that Batalla saved without problems.
Íñigo Pérez had brought on Gerard Gumbau and Unai López at half-time, for Pedro Díaz and Isi Palazón, but after the change in the locker room, Girona’s control was accentuated and Míchel’s men gained pace, with Asprilla omnipresent from the midfielder. At the hour mark, Montilivi stood up with a shot against the crossbar from distance and the visiting coach responded with his fourth change: Álvaro García for Adrián Embarba.
The match was already being played in Rayo’s half of the field, locked in and forced to defend. Tsygankov also tried it from afar and Míchel redoubled his winning bet with Arnaut Danjuma and Cristhian Stuani. There was half an hour left and it seemed that the 1-0 could end up coming due to inertia. In the 71st minute, Miguel, assisted by Iván Martín, missed another obvious goal: he did not see Danjuma, alone, and his shot after cutting went over the crossbar.
Rayo scored its first two shots, a shot by Andrei from the front and a header by Álvaro García from the heart of the area that grazed the crossbar, against an opponent who even had more chances to get the three points. But Stuani’s shot and Yangel Herrera’s header went high and the fans left without a necessary victory in the words of Míchel himself.
Girona 0 – 0 Rayo Vallecano
Girona FC: Gazzaniga; Arnau, David López, Blind, Miguel; Herrera, Iván Martín; Tsygankov, Asprilla (Misehouy, min. 75), Bryan (Danjuma, min. 67); and Abel Ruiz (Stuani, min. 67).
Rayo Vallecano: Augusto Batalla; Balliu, Lejeune, Abdul Mumin, Pep Chavarría (De Frutos, min. 33); Óscar Valentín, Pedro Díaz (Gumbau, min. 46); Andrei, Isi (Unai López, min. 46), Embarba (Álvaro, min. 60); and Camel (Nteka, min. 78).
Arbitrator: Martínez Munuera (Valencian committee). He admonished the locals Tsygankov (min. 20), Abel Ruiz (min. 58) and Herrera (min. 83) and the visitors Pedro Díaz (min. 45), Unai López (min. 64), Balliu (min. 89) and Andrei (min. 90+3).
incidences: Match of the seventh day of LaLiga EA Sports played at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi in front of 12,272 fans.
