Not even the legend Stuani can prevent Girona from getting involved against Oviedo.

GironaIt was a day marked in red. They couldn't afford to let it slip. And Girona did just that, even though they came close to a magical comeback. Míchel's team wasted almost an hour of play, exploited by a direct rival for survival, Oviedo, to build a lead that seemed definitive. With the score at 2-0, however, a double from Stuani and a superb goal from Ounahi made it 3-2. Just as Montilivi was dancing, in the final play, in the 97th minute, David Carmo equalized. It's the second consecutive matchday in which Girona has dropped points in added time, five in total, following Araujo's goal in last week's Catalan derby.

On the cusp of halftime, after a first half in which Girona gave up, Alejandro Muñiz put his hand on his earpiece. It was then that the red-and-white team's defeat was seriously felt, as they hadn't even considered beating Oviedo. The on-field referee was warned by Jorge Figueroa, who was present at the VAR, and he didn't forgive Àlex Moreno's handball inside the box, which Muñiz didn't see. Several seconds had already passed in an action that once again made Montilivi lose patience, disappointed by the lack of creativity from a team that has made many strides forward in recent weeks, but has now taken a step backwards. Viñas didn't get flustered, and the Asturians settled down where they wanted.

Even the bleak outlook didn't prompt Míchel to stir up anything at halftime for the starting eleven, with only Joel Roca, who came close to opening the scoring, attempting to break the prevailing sluggishness. Aarón Escandell, the La Liga's sensational goalkeeper, prevented it. Wherever you looked, there was no sense that Girona wanted to escape the relegation zone. It was clear that, without changes, things would remain the same. And it only got worse: Rondón, off a corner kick, headed in the 0-2.

Eternal Uruguayan

So yes, the Vallecas coach, who will soon be in trouble again if he doesn't stabilize the team's play, has shaken things up. The agitator was, at 39 years old, Cristhian Stuani, who in just a few minutes forced Escandell to spit a ball off the line, won a penalty—also awarded by VAR shortly after—scored it, and received a yellow card for beating an opponent. The Uruguayan fired up Montilivi, who booed some players, whistled at them, and suddenly got excited to see if snagging a point was possible. He did it, but he couldn't.

Then Portu came on, forced an offside just seconds after coming onto the pitch, positioned himself next to Stuani, the tireless companion in adventures, and then rowed. The Oviedo players started to get cramps. Alejandro Muñiz, who had already had the crowd against him from the first-half penalty, saw his opponents turn even further due to a criterion that wasn't the same for both sides. The Asturians were very naive in some counterattacks that could have sealed the victory, and the Girona team, with their hopes up, didn't know whether to be patient and craft meaningful plays or give in to their rage and go all out.

They opted for the latter, and Ounahi, with a spectacular shot from the edge of the box, equalized. Girona didn't hide and went in search of a third goal. They found it with a penalty forced by the Moroccan and converted by Stuani, which provisionally lifted them out of the relegation zone. In the era of San Narciso, San Stuani emerged. Until David Carmo, in the 97th minute, plucked a dead ball to thwart the home side's surge, who, had they taken advantage of the first hour of play, might not have lamented the painful outcome.