Girona 4-3 Atlético Madrid (3 Jan, 2024) Game Analysis - ESPN (UK)

The blog post was last updated on January 4, 2025 at 9:16 am.

Girona managed to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory at home against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, thanks to Ivan Martin's last-minute goal. This win allowed Girona to maintain a similar point tally to Real Madrid on the top of the LaLiga standings.

The Atletico football player, Alvaro Morata, scored three goals in an exciting game as they came back from being down 3-1 and managed to tie the score. However, Martin was able to perform brilliantly, keeping the ball close to his feet and shooting it into the top corner of the goal to win his team three points. This victory helped Girona continue their impressive performance at the beginning of the season.

The coach of Girona, Michel, described their victory as "an unprecedented event," but tried to dampen any speculation about their chances of winning LaLiga this season, despite the team's excellent performance during the first half of the season with their initial victory over Atleti.

According to Michel, the main goal is not to win LaLiga. Instead, the team should focus on taking the games step by step and aim to reach Europe, which would be a significant achievement for the club. The game against Atletico was tough, but both teams played well. Michel spoke highly of his players, emphasizing their remarkable mentality - they remain resilient even during tough moments and always put in their best effort to win the match.

I believe that the success of these players lies in their abilities. Our ultimate goal is to reach Europe, but competing directly with Real Madrid is not plausible. It's incredibly challenging to maintain the same points as the leading teams.

Even though their coach gave an honest opinion about the upcoming games, Girona managed to reach 48 points, which puts them right behind Real Madrid, who defeated Mallorca 1-0 earlier on Wednesday. Atletico Madrid is holding onto third place with 38 points.

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According to Morata on Movistar, we lost a game and points, and now we need to focus on the future. Football is unpredictable, and losing happens. We need to recover quickly and prepare for upcoming events such as the Cup and Super Cup. We don't have much time to dwell on this loss.

At the beginning of the game, Girona scored within two minutes. Valery Fernandez executed a splendid shot from the outer limits of the box. In the 14th minute, Morata equalized for Atletico.

Girona's aggressive tactic of pressing their opponents proved successful when their player Savio scored on his second attempt after grabbing the ball from Atletico's Koke, leading to a score of 2-1 by the 26th minute.

The team from Netherlands, whose defender goes by the name Daley Blind, scored again in the 39th minute through a simple tap-in. Atletico, on the other hand, managed to score just before the end of the first half through a brilliant solo run by Morata.

In the 53rd minute, Morata achieved his third goal by shooting the ball inside the box, resulting in a tie. However, Martin secured the victory for Girona by executing an exceptional strike.

Martin expressed his gratitude for having scored the goal, asserting that it was not a random occurrence. He attributed their success to their hard work ever since they were in the second division. He also added that he is content with his performance and believes that playing in European football is definitely a possibility, but they must persevere to make it happen.

Girona and Atletico are starting their participation in the Spanish Cup on Saturday. Girona's opponent will be Elche, while Atletico will face Lugo.