It's not here yet, but almost: Girona took a giant step towards staying in La Liga by defeating Villarreal in an exercise of collective resilience (1-0). With this victory, Míchel's men have an eight-point cushion over the relegation places with 24 points left to play for. It's within reach.

"Honestly, it's better not to know how much money it cost me, all together," explains, laughing, Albert Martínez, who after a lot of years of research, has an enviable collection of Girona items. Among them, all the first kits in the history of the Catalan club. "There are 55 – he says –. Of the first forty years, only four, because they used one each decade. And, later on, one was valid for two seasons." He has searched among antique dealers, sellers, players of all times, and their families to make it possible. Every time he found a relic, before making the corresponding payment, he used to call Jota, the kit manager until last December, to confirm that he wasn't being tricked. "It's difficult, because the club didn't put them on sale until the 2005-06 season," he admits.

Lamine Yamal is in a celebratory mood. Three moments of brilliance from him secured a victory against Villarreal, the third-placed team in La Liga, just before facing their most difficult task: overturning a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético de Madrid that seems lost. A utopian challenge, if you stop to think about it. But when Lamine Yamal smiles like he did against Villarreal, anything can happen. And if you add Pedri's magic, it's perfectly understandable to have a license to dream. Football isn't an exact science, but if you combine Lamine's brilliance with the Canary Islander's delightful play, the result is usually good news for Barça.

In September 2023, Girona touched the sky in Vila-real. Two goals from Dovbyk and Eric Garcia gave them their first-ever lead in the First Division. Míchel Sánchez was floating, the team was enjoying themselves, and the club appeared in every corner of the planet, marveling at the play of a team that the Madrid native had rescued from the Second Division to lead them to the Champions League. Almost two years later, the same scene was played. witness to a fall that will have consequences. The Girona side, with their team completely destroyed, their stars transferred, and their new arrivals failing to adapt, failed to compete (5-0) and are currently at the bottom of the league. "This is my worst moment as Girona's manager," said Míchel, who, after a few weeks of being unrecognizable in his statements, abandoned his sideline behavior, grabbed his machine gun, and started firing at the players and the club.

Espanyol's celebration of their survival will have to wait a few more days. The Blue and Whites failed to pick up a single point from their 1-0 visit to La Cerámica, where a solitary goal from Yeremy Pino helped the home side move into fifth place. This was a relatively easy obstacle for Espanyol, who still maintain a generous cushion of seven points above the relegation zone with just fifteen points left to play.

The threat of torrential rain looming over Castellón has forced the postponement of the match that closed the 26th round between Villarreal and Espanyol. The sole referee for professional competitions has decided, when the players were about to go out onto the pitch, to prevent the start of the match, as announced over the public address system at the La Cerámica stadium: "Due to the recommendations of intensity of rain we inform you that the referee for competition has decided to postpone the match for reasons. The new date and time of the match will be announced in the next five days, according to the RFEF in a statement.