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History went wrong for the leader of the League.
The red of the
dimonis
dyed the white shirt – away kit – of Girona in what was the second defeat (3-1) for Míchel's team this season, and which left the Catalan club out of the Copa del Rey in the quarterfinals at the end.
It had been 17 games, since their match against Real Madrid, that they had not lost.
”This represents that we are a team that can lose.
There are few teams that lose every so often.
The players have left their lives until the last moment to come back,” Míchel shared.
And far from reaching an unknown dimension – entering the semi-final for the first time in their history – as Míchel's dream promised, the match was choked: Girona, unrecognizable and harmless, and Mallorca, with cold blood, perfectly detected the weaknesses of his rival aggressively.
In Son Moix there was fire, there were songs, and there was celebration for their team's passage to the semifinals 15 years later.
MLLMallorca
3
Dominik Greif, Copete, Raíllo, Jaume Costa (Lato, min. 65), Valjent, Giovanni González, Omar Mascarell, Antonio Sánchez (Manu Morlanes, min. 80), Dani (Samuel Costa, min. 65), Cyle Larin (Nastasic , min. 71) and Abdón Prats (Muriqi, min. 71)
GIR Girona
2
Juan Carlos, Arnau Martinez (Yan Couto, min. 45), Miguel Gutierrez (Valery Fernández, min. 60), Antal Yaakobishvili, Daley Blind, Aleix García, Iván Martín (Pablo Torre, min. 73), Yangel Herrera (Dovbyk, min. 45), Sávio, Tsygankov (Portu, min. 60) and Stuani
Goals
1-0 min.
20: Cyle Larin.
2-0 min.
28: Abdón Prats.
3-0 min.
34: Abdón Prats.
3-1 min.
68: Stuani.
3-2 min.
95: Savio.
Referee
José Luis Munuera Montero
Yellow cards Dani (min. 36), Jaume Costa (min. 39), Raíllo (min. 66), Dominik Greif (min. 72), Daley Blind (min. 93), Yan Couto (min. 94) and Nastasic ( min 97)
Juan Carlos established himself in Girona's cup goal, and Christian Stuani at the top.
With the wings and midfield on display –Aleix García returned after his suspension–, Míchel's team believed they were ready to make history after surpassing their ceiling in the League, beating Sevilla in Montilivi and continuing to lead the domestic competition.
An offensive game against the team of Mexican Javier Aguirre, with a backline of five defenders that is difficult to break through.
The vermillions are the kings of draws – 11 in 21 games this season – but today it was not enough.
To achieve this, Mallorca, which had not played at home in the cup competition for two years, launched a real campaign, a mission under the name of
Operation Cartuja
.
Which turned out to work.
The Balearic energy was maximum.
A show full of fire from the 19,950
dimonis
, with red dyeing Son Moix and with a Stuani very inspired by the training shots that served as a half-omen.
On the field, the extra revolutions were felt, with the ball from area to area, from goal to goal.
But especially against Girona.
The goals became imminent, and the suffering of Míchel's team at not being able to maintain their precious possession could only be extinguished by Juan Carlos, who temporarily saved the
Gironí
dream on more than one occasion with his saves.
But the scenario became complicated: the calm that Girona needed did not arrive, and their goalkeeper did not achieve the miracle of stopping Cyle Larin's goal after Dani Rodríguez's run behind Miguel and Blind, nor did he achieve the goal from a left-footed shot by Abdón Prats from outside the area and the subsequent penalty after Antal Yaakobishvili's handball.
“We have made a mistake.
We have not been able to generate depth and on the counterattack they have done us a lot of damage,” Míchel explained.
And he added: “It is my responsibility.”
The pair of vermilion forwards overcame all the duels, and Girona, more harmless than ever, limited themselves to trying from outside the area against a compressed defense.
Girona reacted: the second half was played on the home field.
But time was ticking, and nerves caused Raíllo to be sent off after giving away a penalty that Stuani converted into hope.
They chased the goal with a Mallorca dying in defense, and
Savinho
scored the second to continue dreaming in stoppage time.
But the final whistle sounded after nine hectic minutes.
“In the end we focused well and a lot, but Mallorca defended very well and they are fair semifinalists,” said Míchel.
The top scorer in the League, the team playing offensively as a banner, failed to find a goal and faced defeat.
The first in 17 games that left Míchel's team out of the Copa del Rey, far from the trophy and their long-awaited semi-final, and a setback in their historic season.
“We have to get up and think from humility that we are a team that does things well and is competing to be at the top of the League, on the road to Europe,” the coach concluded.
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