Girona celebrates its loss of survival with little enthusiasm

GIRONA"Every Girona game in the First Division should be a celebration," reflected Jordi Guerrero, former assistant coach of the Red and Whites and now a partner in Domènec Torrent's adventures in Mexico, a few years ago. The Arbucian knew what he was talking about, accustomed to the mud of the anonymous leagues. From a distance, he must have started a bottle of cava with the current permanence, unexpectedly suffered by the winger. Montilivi celebrated him at the closing ceremony of the championship, albeit without much enthusiasm, something that would have made Guerrero grimace, and he would break into song and dance, if necessary. But both the squad and the fans are exhausted and worn out. The holidays are necessary. Atlético won thanks to the hat trick from Sorloth and a goal from Lenglet (0-4), an exaggerated result in the final minutes.

The year has been complicated, with dramatic overtones that only the character of the veterans has resolved. Girona held its breath for many months, fearing the worst, concentrating all its efforts on an agonizing final stretch, where it managed to survive. The lights of the Champions League have finally impacted Míchel's team, which has been overwhelmed by demands, both external and internal, conditioned by a sporting plan that hasn't gone entirely well, and immersed in a lot of noise, which, instead of allowing for enjoyment, has caused tension and a bad atmosphere. We will have to learn from this season.

Míchel knows it, that barring a monumental surprise, he will continue to make his mark and will sit on the bench for the fifth consecutive year, and Quique Cárcel knows it, who places immense value on having secured a presence in the First Division for the fourth consecutive year, and yes. The sporting director, a key player in the club's structure for a decade, when the club was a wasteland, was thrilled by the brilliant debut in the top flight against Atlético de Madrid, but he also has to endure criticism from those who accuse him of using the same forward pairing from that August night in 2017 as the one he's used today. Stuani and Portu are two successes with no expiration date, but it's painful to remember the millions that have been spent on players who have failed. Before, expectations barely existed, but now they are overwhelming. Míchel and Cárcel will have work to do this summer to restructure the squad and recover the management model that has yielded so many successes.

Sorloth decides

The final chapter of the year wasn't particularly mysterious, with more heat waves in the stands than chances, save for a few errors by Krapyvtsov in goal, who also missed the second maximum.

Arthur and Asprilla played good minutes, and Lino enjoyed the best scoring chances before Sorloth's stampede, who had the thorn in his side of having lost the top scorer who had tainted Dovbyk in the second half with the match by Sorloth and Lenglet. In the end, Montilivi praised Girona with a few whistles, a team that switched off prematurely today, but which will remain among the best for another year; it is undoubtedly the big news of the season.