In the latest round of La Liga matches, Rayo Vallecano secured a narrow 2-1 victory over Osasuna, with key goals from Moi Gómez and Isi Palazon. Meanwhile, Real Madrid continues to lead the standings, closely followed by Barcelona and Girona.
Girona won this Saturday in their match against Cádiz, with a 4-1 score, on the 32nd matchday of the Spanish League, keeping the pressure on the second place currently held by their regional rival, Barcelona.
The Catalan team, which has been the great sensation of the championship, was eager to resolve the game early in their favor, scoring at nine minutes by the central defender Eric Garcia, who headed in following a cross from the Brazilian Sávio, and at 22 minutes by midfielder Ivan Martin, after an assist from Miguel Gutiérrez.
Moreover, they could have reached 2-0 earlier, at 12 minutes, when the Ukrainian international Artem Dovbyk put the ball in Cadiz's net, but he was offside.
However, the Ukrainian striker would eventually score at the 71st minute, following another assist from Miguel Gutiérrez, beating Argentine goalkeeper Conan Ledesma to make it 3-0.
Cádiz managed to narrow the score to 3-1 at the 81st minute through the Argentine midfielder Gonzalo Escalante, who had come on at the start of the second half, but a minute later, the home forward Portu, introduced into the game at the 76th minute, restored the three-goal lead by securing the final 4-1 score.
The Portuguese under-20 international Jastin García was on the bench for Girona but did not get a chance to play under coach Michel.
With this victory, Girona puts pressure on Barcelona for the second place, cutting the gap to just two points, especially as Xavi Hernández's team plays this Sunday at Santiago Bernabéu, in what is the most important match of the 32nd round.
In the other matches today, the highlight was Betis' victory in Valencia, 2-1, with Ayoze Pérez becoming the main figure of the match by scoring both goals for the Andalusian team.
In the first goal, at 19 minutes, Isco made a precise pass to Pérez who finished inside the box, and in the second, at 77 minutes, Pérez himself scored a great goal after dribbling past several opponents, culminating in a shot from outside the box.
Valencia, with two Portuguese under-21 internationals in the starting lineup, Thierry Correia and André Almeida who were substituted at the 67th minute managed to tie the game (1-1) at the 66th minute through Pepelu, who converted a penalty awarded for a foul in the box on Congolese forward Cedric Bakambu, who received a yellow card.
At Betis, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Silva, the usual starter, played the full 90 minutes, while his compatriot William Carvalho was introduced onto the field only at the 89th minute, replacing the American midfielder Johnny Cardoso.
It is also worth noting the rout by Celta de Vigo in their home game against Las Palmas, winning 4-1, where the standout player was Spanish international Iago Aspas, who scored twice, at the 37th and 76th minutes, the first and fourth goals for his team, and also provided an assist for the third goal, scored by Greek forward Anastasios Douvikas.
Finally, Rayo Vallecano hosted and defeated Osasuna 2-1, with Moi Gómez opening the scoring for the home team at the 29th minute. This lead was cancelled out at the 80th minute by Pep Chavarria, the left-back from the Pamplona team, but the defeat was still sealed four minutes later, at the 84th minute, when midfielder Isi Palazon scored the second goal and set the final result.
Portuguese midfielder Miguel Crespo came on at the 82nd minute for Rayo Vallecano, replacing Argentine forward Óscar Trejo.
The league is led by Real Madrid with 78 points, followed by Barcelona with 70 points, Girona (who have played one more game) with 68 points, and Atlético Madrid in fourth place with 61 points.
Valencia ended up being relegated from seventh place, which qualifies for the Europa Conference League, to eighth, with 47 points, overtaken by Betis, who now have 48 points following their victory today at Mestalla Stadium.
