This past weekend, there was La Liga action for both Bryan Gil and his Girona side, and Alejo Veliz and his RCD Espanyol side. It was two games against Madrid opponents, with Girona in action at home to Real Madrid, and Espanyol facing Getafe on the road.
First, on Saturday, Gil’s side were, as mentioned above, at home to Real Madrid. Despite Los Blancos poor recent form both in La Liga and in the UEFA Champions League, they were able to cruise to victory in this game, coming out as 3-0 winners in the end.
As for Gil himself, he once again started this game, featuring on the left hand side of a 4231 set up. Despite some recent good form, this game was one of his quieter appearances of the season, and he was replaced by former Spurs winger Arnaut Danjuma after 58 minute of the game, having struggled to make an impact.
This defeat leaves Girona in 9th place in the La Liga table, with 22 points from their 16 games so far. If they win their game on hand on Mallorca above them, they would overtake them into 8th place.
Then, on Monday night, Veliz and Espanyol made the trip to Madrid for their showdown with Getafe. For this game, the on loan Spurs striker was named amongst the substitutes, having started the bitterly disappointing Copa Del Rey game last midweek.
In his absence, Espanyol fell behind to an 8th minute goal from their hosts, which proved to be key, as it ended up being the only goal of the game, and it would be yet another defeat for Veliz’s side. The Argentine was brought on with 11 minutes to go, but it was too late for him to make any sort of notable impact on the game. He remains on just one league goal so far this season.
This defeat leaves Espanyol in 18th place in the La Liga table, the final relegation spot, with 13 points from their 15 games so far. They have a game in hand on all of the teams immediately above them, but have played one more game than Valencia below them.
Next up for Girona is a UEFA Champions League clash at home to Liverpool on Tuesday evening, with a 17:45 GMT kick off. As for Espanyol, they face Osasuna at home in La Liga this Saturday, with a 13:00 GM kick off.