Overcome
Girona started the match well, but were not convincing in the penalty area and were penalized.
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid
Girona saw their good dynamic in the league broken against an effective Real Madrid. Míchel's men started the match well, having the ball, reaching dangerous areas and controlling the transitions of the Whites. The lack of accuracy up front to finish plays in a better way and the effectiveness of the visitors, however, have tilted the game for Ancelotti's men, who have advanced before the break and have sentenced in the restart. With a very early goal just after coming back from the changing rooms and another one almost consecutively, the match was settled and the team had a hard time recovering its most competitive version in the second half.
The strength in the penalty area, the key
On the quarter-hour mark, Krejci came very close to heading a corner kick into the box, and Bryan Gil, collecting the rejection, shot high from the edge of the area. Asprilla also tried his luck shortly after with another powerful shot from outside the area that went just over the crossbar, and from a filtered pass from the Colombian, Donny Van de Beek received alone inside the area, but his shot also went high. Despite the demanding nature of the match, the team was managing to find a good version of itself, and Gazzaniga also intervened well when needed. However, the strength in the penalty area made the difference. Bellingham took advantage of a loose ball in the box to put his side ahead at the end of the first half, and the start of the second half was lethal. Valverde won the back of the defense and extended the lead with a cross-shot from the edge of the area, and with an attempt by Asprilla through the middle, Mbappé closed the scoring.
Míchel: “We had opportunities, but we didn't score”
“I think that in the first half hour the team has been good. We had opportunities and we finished, but we didn't score”, explained the coach, who added that ‘one of our duties is to have more goals, because we would also survive better in defense’. Regarding the final result, Míchel said that “I saw attitude, but we were too soft against a rival like Real Madrid”.