MADRID.- Girona got back into the bidding for the league title Spanish League by beating the visiting Rayo Vallecano 3-0 on Monday, a victory that allowed them to displace the Barcelona of second place.
The surprise team of the season emerged one point behind its Catalan neighbor, but Viktor Tsygankov’s goal in the 52nd minute and Brazilian Sávio’s injury-time double placed them six points behind leader Real Madrid.
The victory in the rain at the Montilivi Stadium stopped a streak of three games without a win by Girona.
After leading the championship for much of the season, Míchel Sánchez’s team seemed to deflate in February, adding just one of nine points, suffering defeats against Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
“There is much to do. The team needed to win after three days,” said Míchel. “We are winning again, being the highest scoring team in the League. We want to continue being ourselves until the end. Hopefully we can continue fighting for that position (to compete in the next League of Champions). We are left in fifth place (Athletic) with ten points. We have to continue 100% to be able to follow the dream of the Champions League.”
Girona finished off Rayo after Pep Chavarría was sent off for a double warning in the 76th minute.
They resumed their journey in Spain:
The team took the lead shortly after the restart when David López’s pass surpassed the advanced position trap of the Rayo defense. Tsygankov pushed Miguel Gutiérrez’s center home.
Chavarría came on for Jorge de Frutos in the 64th, but was sent off 12 minutes later after committing two treacherous fouls in a couple of minutes.
Sávio sealed the three points with his double in the final stretch. The 19-year-old Brazilian overflowed on the right on both occasions.
Rayo has gone seven games in a row without winning and is 14th in the table.
Source: AP
