Girona, free from the pressure against a much superior rival and with little chance of qualifying, brought out its best version in the Champions League against Liverpool, the best team in Europe at the moment, and as on its debut against PSG in Paris , Competed from power to power against a giant. Only an unfortunate strike by Van de Beek on Luis Díaz in the red and white area separated Míchel’s team from a point they sometimes deserved. Salah, who completed a gray match, did not miss the eleven meters at the moment of truth and signed another ‘red’ victory by inertia, which maintains all the strength of Arne Slot’s team and confirms the virtual KO for the team by Michel.
And Liverpool won without fanfare, despite an overwhelming, perfectly recognizable start. Gazzaniga deflected a powerful header from Joe Gomez into the middle of the Reds’ ball monopoly, with Gravenberch accumulating ball recoveries. The machine oiled by Arne Slot, who did not let Girona breathe from the first minute, doubled the bet with a shot from Darwin Núñez, always dangerous in space.
Ten minutes of English wind did not bode well for Girona, but the red and whites recovered their composure and challenged the most powerful team on the old Continent at the start of the season with two shots from Francés and Miguel Gutiérrez, both deflected by the reappeared Alisson, and above all in a counterattack ruined by an ill-timed slide by Bryan Gil.
Gazzaniga, Francés, juanpe, krejci, Blind (Jhon Solís, min. 76), van de Beek (Iván Martín, min. 76), Oriol Romeu, Bryan Gil (Portu, min. 71), Asprilla, Miguel Gutiérrez and Danjuma ( Stuani, min.
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Szoboszlai, gravenberch, Jones (Elliott, min. 76), Salah, Darwin Núñez (Gakpo, min.71) and Luis Díaz (Endo, min. 88).
The excellent local reaction gave way to a stretch of less intense play.At first it was unachievable to sustain the frantic pace of give and take, and against a dominant rival, Girona changed from their usual intention of having the ball on the counterattack as their weapon of choice against Liverpool’s possession. The mutation allowed him to be very competitive against a giant and to close a noteworthy first half, from power to power, with another shot from Asprilla which forced Allison to extend.
The start of the second half brings the duel back to an exchange of blows. Danjuma and Salah got straight to the point after the break and commanded their teams’ attacks, but it was Robertson who came close to scoring with Liverpool already surrounding the home area. The balance was maintained when Van de Beek’s unwanted strike on Luis Díaz led to the penalty with which Salah gave Liverpool the lead. It was a real blow, the spark that determined a balanced duel. Girona no longer has the ability to overturn the result against a team accustomed to dizziness, but also more than capable of sleeping matches and securing victory with total control.