MADRID (AP) — Girona bounced back from a Copa del Rey defeat to beat Celta Vigo 1-0 on Sunday and return to the top of the Spanish league.
Portu scored the winning goal in the first half to give Girona a point and a point over Real Madrid, who won 2-1 in Las Palmas on Saturday. Madrid have a game left.
“This is a long-distance race,” Girona coach Michel Sanchez said. “We’re in a very good position and we want to continue like this.”
Girona lost 3-2 to Mallorca in the Copa del Rey, but as a result they missed out on advancing to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time, ending their unbeaten run of 17 games in all competitions. The team’s only other loss this season was at home to Madrid in the league in September.
Girona boasts the best attacking power in the tournament with 17 wins and 52 goals in 22 league games. No other team has more than 45 points.
Coach Michel’s team has a tough game ahead of them, with games against 6th place Real Sociedad, 2nd place Madrid, and 4th place Athletic Bilbao.
It was the third consecutive defeat for Celta, coached by Rafa Benitez, who had lost two in a row at home in the league and in the Copa against Real Sociedad. The Vigo team remained in 17th place in the league.
Benitez, who is in the first year of a three-year contract with Celta, was jeered during and after the match.
“We played against a good team that is at the top for a good reason,” Benitez said. “We had chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them.”
Celta were at risk of slipping into the relegation zone late on Sunday, but Cadiz drew 0-0 with Athletic and Sevilla drew 1-1 with Osasuna.
Benítez, like Michel and some of Girona’s players, complained about the poor field conditions at the Balaidos Stadium.
Girona conceded a few chances, but were in control for most of the match.
Portu fired a low shot from inside the area that hit the near post and into the net in the 20th minute.
“We have to take it game by game,” Portu said. “We know we have opened up a huge gap to other teams competing for European places and that has to be our goal now.”
If Atletico beat Valencia at home on Sunday, they could move level with Barcelona in third place on 44 points.
seville slump
Sevilla’s struggles continued at home against Osasuna, which left them outside the relegation zone with just one point and led to more jeers from fans.
Sevilla had won just one of their last 16 league games and had just been eliminated from the Copa del Rey quarter-finals against Atlético.
Unbeatable Cadiz
Even after the appointment of new coach Mauricio Pellegrino, Cadiz was unable to end their 20-game winless streak in all competitions.
The home game against Athletic ended in a goalless draw, leaving Cadiz on the edge of the relegation zone.
Athletic have moved up to fourth place, but there is a possibility that they will be overtaken by Atlético.
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