Girona faces first real test with Real Madrid’s visit

 

Aside from VfB Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga, Girona are one of the other teams in Europe that are enjoying an unprecedented start to the season and have also managed to catch the attention of football neutrals across Europe.

After seven match days in La Liga, it is neither defending champions Barcelona nor Real Madrid, and it’s not even Atletico Madrid who tops the table but rather the unexpected outsiders FC Girona, who sits in the number one spot.

Girona took advantage of Barcelona’s slip at Mallorca on Tuesday to go on top of the table by beating Villarreal 2-1 on Wednesday, on the same night Real Madrid were hoping to go on top of the table with a return to victory in a 2-0 win over Las Palmas after losing in the Madrid derby at the weekend, but Girona’s win meant that a Catalan Club remained at the summit of the table.

Now, both teams will meet on match day 8 of La Liga this Saturday as Girona welcomes their most difficult opponents in this season yet. Without disrespect to the efforts of Girona, the club faced Real Sociedad on the opening day and secured a 1-1 draw, and since then, they’ve gotten victory victories over the likes of Sevilla, Granada, Getafe and Villarreal, including a 5-3 over Mallorca, highlighting a rich form.

Girona manager Michel Sanchez has stated that his players must keep their feet on the ground but also enjoy the moment ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Real Madrid.

“We have to enjoy this moment. The game against Madrid will be precious; since Vinícius, I have not seen a player with the one-on-one skills that Savinho has. We know that we will have a hard time with Vinícius on Saturday, but we will enjoy a good battle between those two. The joy is for our fans and our city, but inside the team, we have to understand that the job is not done,” coach Míchel Sánchez said.

On Friday, Barcelona will host Sevilla and will return to the summit, temporarily with a win.

Saturday La Liga Fixtures: 

Getafe v Villarreal

Rayo Vallecano v Mallorca

Girona v Real Madrid

Real Sociedad v Ath Bilbao

Sunday La Liga Fixture

Almeria v Granada CF

Alaves v Osasuna

Atl. Madrid v Cadiz CF

Betis v Valencia

Daniel Ademiju Idowu