Girona, May 2: A first half goal from Samu Costa was enough to give Mallorca a 1-0 win at Girona and further tighten the already wicked relegation fight in La Liga.
Mallorca’s first away win on Friday since October lifted it above Girona on goal difference into 15th place in the 20-team table. Both clubs were four points clear of the relegation zone.
Only six points separate Rayo Vallecano in 11th with second-from-bottom Levante.Mallorca was on top for much of the opening 45 minutes and it got its reward seconds before halftime.
Costa was unmarked in the box and he stole in to head home Johan Mojica’s lofted cross from the left.Girona pushed harder in the second half but the woodwork and goalkeeper Leo Roman saved Mallorca. Veteran striker Cristhian Stuani acknowledged the defeat was a hard one to take.“It’s getting more difficult,” Stuani said.
“We have to grit our teeth and give it everything.”
And so, on a night where margins felt painfully thin and every touch carried consequence, Mallorca walked away with more than just three points—they claimed breathing space in a battle that refuses to loosen its grip. The solitary strike from Samu Costa, simple in its execution yet immense in its impact, proved enough to tilt the balance in a contest defined by tension and fleeting moments. For Girona, the frustration lingered long after the final whistle, their second-half urgency meeting resistance in the form of stubborn defending, an unyielding crossbar, and a goalkeeper unwilling to be beaten. With the table compressed so tightly that a single result can redraw the landscape, the relegation fight now simmers with even greater intensity.
Mallorca will take confidence from this hard-earned triumph, a reminder that resilience can often outweigh flair at this stage of the season.
Girona, meanwhile, are left staring at a narrowing margin for error, where resolve must match desperation in the weeks ahead.
As the campaign edges towards its conclusion, there is no comfort to be found—only the relentless demand to endure, to respond, and to survive. (AP)
