MADRID: Girona coach Michel hailed his side’s return to winning ways and called for consistency in the second half of the season after goals from David Lopez, Abel Ruiz and Arnaut Danjuma secured an emphatic 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid in LaLiga on Friday.

Last season’s surprise packages Girona bounced back from a six-game winless streak and four straight defeats with a dominant performance that put them eighth in the standings on 25 points, two points off the last European qualification spot.

“I have seen a very good team, especially in things that the team needed, more aggressiveness with and without the ball, the pressure after the loss has been top at all times, we have done very well,” Michel told a press conference.

“[In past games] we dominated the ball but we were not strong in the box, especially in our own, we were not a team that pressed after losing the ball. Today the aggressiveness, the pressure was incredible, for me the best of the season.”

Michel reflected on 2024 following Girona’s third-place finish in LaLiga and their first Champions League appearance.

They have lost five of their six Champions League matches to stand a lowly 30th in the 36-team table and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by fourth-tier Logrones.

“My goal is for the team to be in the top seven in the league standings, we will see if we are capable, we rely on our consistency in the game,” Michel said.

“If we look at the first six months of 2024, I was very happy, the team was doing well, it was easy to work in that context. These last few months I haven’t given my best version. It’s wrong to be out of the Copa del Rey and far from qualifying for the Champions League next round, I have failed, I have to improve to coach a team like Girona.”

The hosts dominated proceedings and took the lead just past the half-hour mark when Miguel Gutierrez’s free kick deflected off Lopez and into the top corner of the net.

Ruiz doubled the advantage with a close-range header from a Gutierrez cross in the 39th minute before substitute Danjuma netted a first-time effort nine minutes from time, the Dutch winger’s first goal for Girona.

The visitors failed to pose any threat, managing just one shot in the match, as remained second-bottom on 12 points, four adrift of the safety zone.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024