Girona broke through Sevilla with a deserved 2-1 victory this Saturday at Montilivi, as Uruguay’s Cristhian Stuani and Venezuela’s Yangel Herrera helped seal a win that extended Girona’s unbeaten run to seven. The decisive moments arrived following Tanguy Nianzou’s early goal, and the Catalan side asserted itself against the Andalusian club right from the opening minutes.
The standout Girona side continued to demonstrate its impressive pace and cohesion, moving away from the relegation zone as the first half closed. Despite Sevilla’s resilience, the lone breakthrough in the opening act came from Nianzou, who headed home after a free kick taken by Ivan Rakitic.
Earlier in the half, Girona had crafted several promising plays, with Stuani forcing a save from Yassine Bounou, a well-taken header by Oriol Romeu, a precise Vaseline finish by Ivan Martin, and multiple stinging efforts from Aleix Garcia and Rodrigo Riquelme that narrowly missed opening the scoring. Sevilla’s goal did little to alter the tempo of the contest, and Girona remained the more assertive side.
Nianzou’s goal, though well-executed, did not alter the overall flow of the match, which saw Girona pressing with intent while Sevilla looked to stay compact and dangerous on the counter. Romeu and Riquelme continued to threaten Bono’s goal with late first-half incursions after the goalkeeper had to deal with a couple of testing shots.
Midway through the match, Sevilla briefly cowed the crowd with a deflected Fernando Reges effort and a cautious volley from Rafa Mir, but the balance remained with Girona until the interval. Moments before the break, Bono produced a spectacular save to push away a powerful strike by David Lopez.
The restart brought a renewed Míchel-led Girona surge. Almost immediately, Stuani converted a chance after a precise pass from Toni Villa, firing into the near post to level the score and set up a tense second half. Sevilla responded with energy, but a miscommunication in the defense helped Girona regain the upper hand.
Shortly after the hour, Mir and Reges again tested Gazzaniga, but Girona held firm at the back and looked to capitalize on quick breaks. The action intensified as Sampaoli replaced pieces to bolster Sevilla, yet the defensive line held strong and Girona retained control.
In the 88th minute a decisive moment arrived when Yangel Herrera intercepted a loose ball and finished with a delicate Vaseline finish that beat Bono and sent Montilivi into a frenzy. The late strike sealed a 2-1 win for Girona, a result that reflected the home side’s persistence and tactical discipline throughout the 90 minutes.
Data sheet:
2 – Girona FC: Gazzaniga; Arnau, Santi Bueno, David López (Bernardo, at least 63), Miguel; Romeu; Toni Villa (Yan Couto, min. 62), Iván Martín (Herrera, min. 62), Aleix García, Riquelme (Valery, min. 82); Stuani (Ramon Terrats, 90+1 min).
1 – Sevilla FC: Connect; Jesús Navas (Suso, min. 80), Nianzou, Fernando (Lamela, min. 66), Badé (Gonzalo Montiel, min. 66), Acuña; Jordan, Gudelj; Oliver Torres (Youssef En-Nesyri, min. 90), Ivan Rakitic; Rafael Mir.
Goals: 1-0 min. 13: Nianzou. 1-1 min. 46: Stuani. 2-1 min. 88: Herrera.
Judge: Pizarro Gómez (Madrid committee). He warned locals David López (min 36), Toni Villa (min 45) and Arnau (min 68), and visitor Acuña (min 45).
events: The 17th day match of La Liga Santander was played in front of 12,035 fans at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi.
<p (citation: Marca). Sorry about the earlier text, but the match details were updated to reflect the late turn in favor of Girona and the overall performance trajectory for both teams on the day.