By Charlie Devereux
MADRID (Reuters) – Girona revived their stuttering campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday thanks to goals by Portu and Savinho to reclaim second spot in LaLiga.
Girona moved back to second in the standings on 62 points, one ahead of Barcelona and four behind leaders Real Madrid who have a game in hand and host relegation-threatened Celta Vigo on Sunday.
The hosts made their early dominance tell with a strike by Portu after he was set up by Ukrainian forward Viktor Tysgankov in the first half.
Girona were heading for an edgy finish after spurning several golden chances before Savinho finally put the match to bed after Aleix Garcia set up the Brazilian in the 84th minute.
The surprise packages in LaLiga this season, Girona’s campaign had looked in danger of imploding after a 4-0 thrashing by Real Madrid last month and three defeats in four games.
The win, however, put them back within touching distance of Real and closer to Champions League qualification after they opened a 12-point lead over fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Osasuna began by pressing Girona high up on the pitch but hosts were happy to play round them with their intricate passing game in wet conditions which meant the ball was zipping across the surface.
In the 12th minute, Girona strung together more than 20 passes before Portu slotted home from Tysgankov’s through ball. It was the fourth goal Girona have scored from sequences of 20 or more passes this season, according to Opta.
In the second half, Girona increased their intensity.
Girona’s Daley Blind had a golden chance when he beat Alejandro Catena to the ball and looked certain to score but his shot was blocked by a last-ditch tackle from Unai Garcia.
Uruguayan Cristhian Stuano was clear through on goal but his first touch was loose before he shot over and in the 84th minute Savinho’s goal was disallowed after Stuani was judged to have committed a foul on Unai Garcia.
Two minutes later, however, Savinho made sure of the win, firing home after being set up by a delicate back heel from Garcia.
“I’m happy for the goal and for the win,” Savinho said. “The coach tells us that we are capable of winning the remaining ten matches if we are ourselves, like we did today.”
(Reporting by Charlie Devereux, editing by Ed Osmond)
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