(Reuters) – Girona manager Michel hailed his side’s resilience after they earned a hard-fought 1-0 LaLiga victory at Getafe on Sunday, riding their luck and scoring with one of only two efforts on target as the hosts spurned several chances.
Getafe were the better side for much of the contest but Yangel Herrera’s towering header in the first half was enough to seal victory for Girona, who were missing 12 first-team players due to injuries.
“Today’s performance was not our best, obviously, and everyone could see that, but you have to appreciate how the boys defended,” Michel told DAZN.
“God knows how many crosses they attempted, they had eight shots and we kept most off the target, that’s great defending. And with the only real chance we created in the game it was a goal. We knew it was going to be difficult.
“They are a team that presses well, they have done it to all teams and that’s why they were undefeated at home. We’ve been very competitive, as you need to be to win here.”
Girona earned back-to-back league wins for the first time in more than two months, after a 4-0 defeat by PSV Eindhoven, their third loss in four Champions League matches, on Tuesday.
Michel said he is hoping the two-week rest they will have in the international break will help them get some of their key players back from injury such as Abel Ruiz, Arnaut Danjuma, Viktor Tsygankov or Yaser Asprilla, among others.
“That’s our reality and that’s why those were three very, very valuable points. The way the team is at the moment, we need to rest and get some of the boys back,” Michel said.
“I think after the international break we’re going to have, I hope, fingers crossed, more players available and today it was very important to get a positive result.”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)
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