It’s hard to predict what Girona would have been without the goals from set pieces. Action strategies are, for Míchel’s men, one of the main factors in gaining points in the regular tournament standings.
There is a surprising truth. The rojiblanco team is the only team in the five major leagues, along with Elche and Hellas Verona in the Italian league, who have not left a clean sheet in any of the games we have played so far. Surprisingly, Elche and Hellas Verona are at the bottom of their leagues and, on the other hand, the ‘gironí’ team is twelfth in the table.
Perhaps the set piece action had a lot to do with that. The Catalans scored two more goals with dry skin in the final match of the competition against Rayo Vallecano. Both from eleven meters but there are also so many that they add to the statistics.
In fact, the team led by the Vallecano coach appeared against the Madrid team as the fourth team with the most joy in strategic actions. However, the statistics help us reveal more interesting things, as only Real Madrid surpassed Girona in actions from set pieces completed. The men from Girona are also second in the Liga ranking in goals scored.
That effectiveness gave them nine points out of the 17 they accumulated in the table. Without the goals from set pieces, Girona would have been penultimate, in relegation, with 8 points. It will stay exactly between Elche and Seville, the red lantern area where no one wants to leave.
You can still pull out the scalpel and analyze which games Girona took advantage of in these situations. He served him in Mallorca to tie the game from eleven meters when it almost reached 93 minutes into the match. It also happened in the ‘in-extremis’ victory over Valladolid in 1988 with Oriol Romeu’s header.
The matter does not end here. In game 101, Stuani put the penalty tie against a desperately needed Cádiz. The tie against Osasuna also came on a shot from David López after a rebound from a free kick. There is more. The Uruguayan scored again from the penalty spot at the Bernabéu to achieve, once again, a historic result in the white fiefdom.
And it goes on, and on… David López is again the star of the victory against Athletic Club in strategic action. Finally, the two penalties recorded against Rayo end the long list of situations where oil has been extracted.
So, Míchel must continue to insist and refine what gives him the necessary results to achieve the main goal, permanence. So far, the data seems inconclusive.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
