MADRID, Dec 11: Girona made its strong case to be considered a genuine contender for the Spanish league title by beating Catalan rival Barcelona 4-2 on Sunday and overtaking Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
Ukraine forwards Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsygankov teamed up for Girona’s opener, and Miguel Gutierrez, Valery Fernández and Cristhian Stuani scored a goal each to seal the away victory against the defending league champions.
Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan scored Barcelona’s goals.
The statement win moved Girona two points ahead of Madrid, which drew 1-1 with Real Betis on Saturday.
Barcelona dropped to fourth place, seven points behind its regional rival and five behind Madrid.
Atletico Madrid regained third place with a 2-1 win over last-place Almeria to extend its winning streak at home in the league to 17 matches.
Atletico has the same 34 points as Barcelona with a game in hand.
Barcelona had never lost in six matches against Girona in the league, with four wins and two draws.
Girona, partly owned by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership, never looked like the minnow club against Barcelona on Sunday, showing maturity and poise from the start at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium
“It’s a special victory, it gives us the lead,” Míchel said. “Very happy with the result because we faced a great Barça team.”
Girona had won 12 of its first 15 league matches, though it had failed in its first big test when it lost 3-0 to Real Madrid at home in September.
There was no problem against Barcelona, though.
FAN DEATH
The game between Granada and Athletic Bilbao was suspended after a fan suffered a cardiac arrest and died in the stands.
Granada said the fan had been a season ticket holder for 16 years.
No further details were given about the fan’s identity.The match will restart on Monday night from the 17th minute with Athletic leading 1-0.
Inaki Williams had put the visitors ahead in the sixth minute. (AP)
