An unnamed Girona side washed up on the shore of Mallorca in a match that would go down as a brutal wake-up call. On the coast, disappointment lingered after a terrible display in Mallorca that prevented them from reaching the Copa del Rey semi-finals. The team suffered grievous injuries in the opening minutes, leaving them stranded in a moment that felt almost doomed from the start.
Even when facing ten men, Girona failed to find the footballing calm needed to break the barrier before them. The performance came off as sterile and inconsequential, like players too aware of history but unsure how to act in the present. Memories are usually saved on paper, but here the pages opened to a bleak doodle of the islands. Late goals by Stuani and Savinho, coming when the game was already slipping away, only highlighted how badly Girona began this campaign.
3-0 in the 34th minute
What followed was the worst match of the season so far, and the most disastrous opening half hour Girona has endured in six months of competitive adventures. The trip to Mallorca intensified the sense that the squad had simply not shown up. The early warning signs from Aguirre’s side did not rouse the sleepy Girona collective; they remained off their game and off the pace.
By the time the scoreboard finally tilted to 3-0, the damage felt irreparable. Unaware of the storm brewing, Míchel watched in frustration as the team collapsed. In the 22nd minute, with the score already 2-0, Pablo Torre signaled for Portu and Yan Couto to warm up, a sign of the mounting urgency and growing concern about Girona’s stability.
Tiger and lion: Dani Rodríguez and Cyle Larin.
HE @RCD_Mallorca first hit. #LaCopaBreak pic.twitter.com/KRjS6c029e
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Girona’s defensive framework, so often a source of strength, was exposed. Arnau, Antal, Blind and Miguel found themselves under relentless pressure, and it wasn’t just a back four issue. The entire team failed to control the tempo, and the intensity required to reach a Copa del Rey semi-final looked increasingly distant from the performance on display.
Chaotic first half
As the first half drew to a close, goalkeeper Juan Carlos stood out in a mire of struggles. Three goals conceded, with two crucial saves executed beforehand, underscored the chaotic nature of Girona’s performance. Larin managed to convert a 1-0 advantage after a misstep in Blind’s forward line, then Abdón delivered a sharp strike to push the score to 2-0. Rookie Antal contributed to the catastrophe by mishitting a clearance from a promising position, capping the period at 3-0 on the board.
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Mallorca’s coach Aguirre had crafted a plan that Girona allowed to unfold. The visitors offered little resistance, committing only one foul in the opening 45 minutes, a sign of disengagement more than discipline. Antal’s handball, detected by VAR, became another sour note in a half that drew heavy criticism from Míchel and left the manager desperate for a change of direction at the break.
The Vallecas coach’s decision at halftime brought Dovbyk in to partner with Yangel Herrera, a tactical shift meant to pivot the attack. Yet the second half began with Mallorca forcing another clear chance, with Larin outrunning Antal before firing a dangerous shot.
Not against 10
The 3-0 scoreline took a toll, emotionally and in football terms, as Abdón and Larin, two of Mallorca’s attackers, led a party in Son Moix. Fireworks felt unnecessary, but the night carried them anyway. The hosts’ display plunged Girona into despair until Stuani earned a penalty, drawing two yellow cards for Raíllo and the inevitable sending off. The match suddenly shifted—3-1, Girona down but not entirely out, suddenly against ten men.
In that moment, the game’s landscape altered completely. Girona, reeling from the early humiliation, still clung to patience and the essence of their football, hoping to turn the tide by leaning on what had defined them before this nightmare of a half. Yet the urgency in Mallorca remained palpable. Aguirre’s side pressed with a dry efficiency, suppressing the magic Savinho would later try to conjure. The Brazilian started on the left, drifted to the right in the second half, but his dribbling and service rarely found the mark until late, when Savinho delivered a glimmer of hope as added time ticked toward the dressing room.
The half-time whistle brought a cold reckoning for Girona: the Cup dream hung by a thread, and the team faced an uphill battle to reverse the narrative. The result hung over the match like a stubborn fog, yet there remained a spark in the visitors’ play, a belief that tenacity could still carve out a path back into contention, even if the clock was running out.
In the end, the night in Mallorca was not just a defeat. It was a clarion call that underscored the distance between Girona’s potential and their execution on the field. It was a night that would be remembered for the sudden collapse and the stubborn hope that might yet define their season in the battles to come.