Girona were going at full speed, believing themselves all-powerful at halftime, confident of a lead against Celta. It didn't matter that it was their only shot, nor that the Galicians had hit the post twice. The Girona players felt capable of anything, but when the visitors finally broke through, their dream came to an end, and they were brought back down to earth (1-2). That mentality speaks volumes about Girona, of course. And after everything they've had to endure this season, who is anyone to tell them how to feel now that they're doing well?

A careless penalty in stoppage time by Blind prevented Girona from winning for the first time in La Liga. But in the 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo, one aspect prevailed above all others. Take note of his name: Vladyslav Vanat. The striker, signed on the last day of the transfer window, made the bench stand out at Balaídos on his debut in the red and white shirt. He's Ukrainian, like Artem Dovbyk, the last unknown to make an impact at Montilivi and who became the top scorer two leagues ago. Dovbyk, who would have scored 24 goals, took eight minutes to score on his debut; Vanat needed twelve, just four more. He did it easily and without much thought, with two touches, both with his right foot, one to orient himself and the other to make Radu's stretch useless. In twelve minutes, in fact, Vanat has already scored half of the goals Miovski scored—two—last year in the league. It's a good color. It's a shame about the ending, but at least the team no longer has zero points in the standings.

Espanyol has taken another giant step towards staying in the First Division. After storming Vallecas, the Blue and Whites reaffirmed their improved away performance at Balaídos (0-2) with a valuable victory that moves them six points clear of relegation. In Vigo, Manolo González's men once again demonstrated that they have lost their fear of playing away from home, showing defensive solidity—a second consecutive clean sheet—and their attacking acumen. Roberto Fernández and Joan Garcia dominated the areas and gave even more hope to a team that is coming into the season on a tear and will play four of their five matches away from the RCDE Stadium this month. It had been seven years, since 2018, since Espanyol had not had two consecutive away wins in the First Division.