Girona coach says they can’t keep up with Real Madrid: Coach Michel
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Girona's Ivan Martin is being lifted by a teammate after their win over Atletico Madrid.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
GIRONA – Coach Michel Sanchez insisted his high-flying Girona cannot keep up with La Liga leaders Real Madrid, despite their stunning 4-3 win over Atletico Madrid on Jan 3 which allowed them to stay level on 48 points with Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Ivan Martin’s stoppage-time goal earned the Catalan minnows a last-gasp win as they kept pace with Real, who pipped Mallorca 1-0 at home, thanks to an Antonio Rudiger header in the 70th minute.
Goals by Valery, Savio and Daley Blind helped Girona take a 3-1 lead but Atletico, led by hat-trick scorer Alvaro Morata, came back to level the scores before Martin snatched all three points by firing into the top corner.
Promoted to the top flight in 2022, Girona are tied with Real at the halfway stage of the season, 10 points clear of third-placed Atletico and champions Barcelona.
However, Michel has insisted his team – who are part-owned by the City Football Group – are not in the same bracket as Spain’s big three and maintained that line after the remarkable triumph at Estadi Montilivi.
“We cannot keep up with Madrid’s rhythm, we don’t want to put that label on ourselves (of challengers),” the Spaniard, 48, said.
“To talk about bigger things, like the Champions League, we have to get to the last 10 matches... then I’ll be ready to talk about our next objective.”
He his team’s only goal at this point of the season was qualifying for European competition.
“(Winning the league) is not the objective, the objective is first to think game by game, and try to reach Europe, which would already be a success for us,” he added.
Girona, who have scored 46 goals, the highest in the top flight, are 13 points clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, giving them a strong chance of finishing in the top four.
While Martin, 24, said he was lucky to score the winner, he believes they are on track for continental football.
“We’ve been doing a great job since we were in the second tier,” he noted. “I’m happy to play the way I’m playing. European football is there for us, but we have to keep going.” AFP
