When it comes to the Champions League, typically one assumes that the less familiar opponents will come from smaller leagues, the Champions of Austria or Hungary rather than the third or fourth-place sides from England or Spain.
Sometimes, though, an underdog or upstart pushes their way in from one of the top leagues. Such is the case with Girona, who finished third in La Liga last season in just their second year back in the Spanish top flight—after earning promotion via the playoff in 2022 as the Segunda’s sixth-place side.
“I think it is really special what they’ve done here, particularly last season but even this season still,” said Liverpool manager Arne Slot of his side’s upcoming opponents. “They were close to becoming the Leicester City of La Liga.
“Even this season, I think they are better than the results might look, especially in the Champions League. They were unlucky against Paris Saint-Germain, I think they were a bit unlucky here against my former club Feyenoord. That’s why we have to be on top of our game tomorrow to get a result.”
Girona’s rise isn’t an entirely feel good story, and some Leicester fans will chafe at the comparison given Girona are part of the Manchester City-led City Group, making them a cog in Abu Dhabi Group and Sheikh Mansour’s sportwashing empire.
They’re also currently ninth this season, ten points back of the Champions League places in Spain and looking unlikely to challenge for them again this season while in Europe so far they have one win and four losses and it would be a shock from here if they manage to advance to the knockout rounds.
Girona’s struggles to follow up on last season’s success aren’t Liverpool’s concern, though. All Liverpool care about is trying to get the three points for themselves to further solidify their place in the top eight of the Champions League table.
“Everyone is fit because we skipped the game on Saturday so there’s no reason to rotate,” Slot added of his lineup plans. “Maybe there’s a reason for the upcoming match but there’s also three days in between so we will start like all the other games with a very good team.”