Upstarts Girona ease to 3-0 win over Alaves to reclaim La Liga top spot
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Girona players celebrate victory at the end of their 3-0 Spanish La Liga win over Alaves.
PHOTO: AFP
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MADRID – For the past 10 seasons, Spanish giants Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have taken turns to claim the La Liga title, with Barca winning five times, Real clinching it thrice and Atletico twice.
This could all change soon, although there is still more than half a season to go.
On Dec 18, Ukraine forward Artem Dovbyk scored twice as Girona wrote another chapter of their Cinderella story with a dominant 3-0 home win over Alaves to leapfrog Real and reclaim top spot in the La Liga standings.
The lowly Catalan side have forged ahead and sit alone atop the standings on 44 points after 17 games, two ahead of Real and nine clear of last season’s champions Barcelona in third.
Girona coach Michel Sanchez, however, is keeping his feet on the ground.
“It is not the time to talk about being able to win La Liga, but it is time to say that we are a team that can aspire to make Europe. That is very clear to me,” he said.
“In 10 games I will see if there are possibilities of fighting for La Liga, but we have not yet reached the last third of the competition. After 26 or 28 games, we will be able to see what Girona’s real objective is, but there is still a long way to go until then.”
Girona’s stunning start to the La Liga season reached new heights the previous week when they claimed a statement 4-2 victory over Barca – their first league win over their Catalan rivals – and they kept the ball rolling against Alaves.
They dominated proceedings with the same intensity they have shown this season, with their 3-0 defeat at home by Real in late September the only major blip in a stunning start to the campaign.
Dovbyk opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a close-range strike and Portu extended their lead just before the break with a fine first-time effort from the edge of the box.
Most of the hosts’ scoring opportunities came from the right flank, with 21-year-old Brazil fullback Yan Couto troubling Alaves’ defence with his speed and skill.
On one of his sprints up the wing, he knocked the ball through a defender’s legs to get into the box before being fouled from behind in the 59th minute, earning a penalty that Dovbyk netted with a tidy finish.
The win was Girona’s 14th in 17 games, giving them the most wins and points in Europe’s top five leagues at this stage of the season.
Their remarkable run has fuelled belief that they are equipped to challenge for a maiden title only one season after gaining promotion to the top flight.
“This team is so hungry that it doesn’t settle for anything,” Portu told Movistar Plus.
“The team wants more but we can’t look at the standings. The key is to stay focused, nobody relaxes here. It’s not easy to get used to winning, to have that extra pressure... but the team is handling it very well.” REUTERS
