Girona drew 0-0 with Vallecano in the seventh round of LaLiga. The Czech representative Ladislav Krejčí, who played the last two competitive matches, remained only on the home team. Coach Míchel’s men did not win in the Spanish top flight for the third round in a row and are twelfth in the table, Rayo scored for the third time in a row and are tenth. In the second match on Wednesday, Barcelona hosts Getafe. Barcelona defeated Getafe 1:0, they did not lose even in the seventh match of LaLiga and lead the table by four points ahead of Real. Lewandowski scored the seventh goal of the season.
Girona looked to make amends for a botched start to the season, but Rayo arrived at the Estadi Montilivi with a very defensive tactic. The guests pulled into the block right from the start, did not rush to play and at the same time successfully prevented the home team from creating chances. Yaser Asprilla had the best chance of the first half, but he did not convert the opportunity. The Colombian, brilliantly found by Miguel Gutiérrez with a pass, found himself in a promising space in the box, but his projectile ended up on the crossbar.
Rayo tried to change the course of the game in the second half with two midfield substitutions, but the changes did not have the desired effect and Girona continued to control the game. Chances were still few and far between, but Asprilla continued to threaten the visitors’ goal. After an hour, the former Watford striker unleashed a long-range shot that was again stopped by the crossbar. Yangel Herrera, Gutiérrez and Viktor Cygankov also had chances, but the opening of the scoring continued to elude Michel’s men.
Match statistics. Opta by Stats Perform
Even the arrival of Cristhian Stuani did not give Girona the necessary impetus, and in the end even Rayo had the opportunity to pull the match to their side. First, Andrei Ratiu threatened from a distance, and then, after a fluid team action, Álvaro García got to the end, but missed. Stuani still managed to miss one of the biggest chances of the match when he shot over the open goal at the back post.
The leader Barcelona has swept away all opponents so far. In Wednesday’s contest, they faced the Azulones team, who were still waiting for their first win of the season. However, the Madrid team wanted to subvert the pre-match assumptions soon. Iňaki Peňa had to intervene right at the start of the match when he neutralized Carles Pérez’s header after Álex Sola’s pass. The agile Pérez then broke into the Catalans’ penalty area, but his close-range shot was blocked by the alert Alejandro Balde.
Despite the visitors’ positive start, it was Barca who struck first. Fullback Jules Koundé had a big share in the goal thanks to his foxy pass. Goalkeeper David Soria only sent the Frenchman’s incentive to Lewandowski, who clinically finished the first and scored his seventh goal of the season.
Match statistics. Opta by Stats Perform
After the break, Barca continued to play with more intensity and Soria pulled off a superb save to keep out Lamine Yamal’s long-range effort. Soria continued to keep Getafe in the game for points. Mazák in the Madrid team’s goal showed his skill when he headed away Raphin’s free kick after only seeing the ball at the last moment. Coach Hans Flick’s men kept trying to increase their lead.
Eric García could have doubled the home team’s lead when he finished from a good position after Raphina’s free kick, but shot over the goal. The Brazilian was then very close to the goal himself, but his header after Koundé’s pass went wide of the three posts. The Catalans still consolidated their lead at the top of the table, on the other hand, Getafe, after 22 unsuccessful attempts, continues to wait for their first ever away victory in Barcelona.
