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Girona 1-0 Villarreal: Girona take one step closer to survival
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- Girona 1-0 Villarreal: Girona take one step closer to survival
Girona 1-0 Villarreal: Girona take one step closer to survival
A Pau Navarro own-goal gave Girona their first ever top-flight league win at home against Villarreal and go eight points clear of the La Liga relegation zone.
On the brink of half-time, Girona's captain, Arnau Martinez, played the ball that deflected off Navarro's foot into his own net which gave the home side the lead.
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Villarreal ended the game with zero shots on target, a damning indictment of tonight's performance as they wasted an opportunity to go four points clear of Atlético Madrid .
As it happened
The Blandquivermells dominated possession in the first-half and when they allowed Villarreal possession, they would squeeze them with a very high-press, forcing them into occasional mistakes.
One instance on the half-hour mark saw Renato Viega sell Luiz Júnior short with a back pass but recovering quickly to give away a corner – that corner resulted in a Girona player narrowly missing the target.
The home side's tactics were rewarded in the 45th minute when Martinez and Viktor Tsigankov connected on the right-hand side. The former crossed low to striker Abel Ruiz but defender Navarro stepped in-front but knocked the ball into his own net.
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Importantly, Villarreal had dropped so deep from the pressure that any cross into the box inevitably was a dangerous one. Though that action had a touch of luck, there was no fortune in Girona's superiority.
The second half saw a much more open game but lacked clear cut chances. Both teams were catching each other on transitions – signalling to a lack of control – but last-stitch defending stopped a likely goal.
Girona coach Míchel closed the game out well with some substitutions – bringing on Hugo Rincón and Joel Roca – which made the final minutes comfortable for the home side. There were hugs at full-time, appreciating how vital this win is in their league survival.
They will face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Friday night whilst Villarreal will play Athletic Club at San Mamés on Sunday night.
