A miracle from La Liga. A brilliantly run Girona top the table, 47% owned by owners Citizens. What’s behind its rise?

Fans all over the world are used to seeing either Real Madrid or Barcelona, sometimes Atlético Madrid, or on rare occasions Real Sociedad or Sevilla at the top of the La Liga table. But after seven rounds, there’s a big surprise – Girona rule Spain!

The season before last, Girona fought their way back to the elite, where they returned after three years. Anyone expecting an immediate relegation would be very wrong.

The small Catalan side decided to take La Liga by storm with their offensive football. Girona’s games saw the most goals scored (58 scored, 55 received), with duels ending in wild results such as 4:3, 5:3, 6:1 or 3:3. Girona also had the fifth best attack in La Liga.

In the spring, it drew a lot of attention to itself when it beat Real Madrid 4: 1 at home, with striker Tatty Castellanos netting all four goals. Before the season came a fairly solid shakeup in the squad.

It was Castellanos, the team’s top scorer, who left for Lazio. Key midfielder Oriol Romeo was again taken by Barcelona, talented winger Roro Riquelme returned to Atlético Madrid after the end of his loan spell and first-choice stopper Santi Bueno left for Wolves.

But the modest Catalan club with the smallest stadium in La Liga (Estadio Montilivi 13 286) has a solid support. 47% of the club is owned by City Football Group, the owners of the famous Manchester City.

Girona has therefore been strengthened. For the sum of 7.7 million euros, striker Artem Dovbyk has arrived from Dnipro in Ukraine. For six million, the 18-year-old Jhon Solís came from Colombia. Ecuador’s Yangel Herrera arrived from Manchester City for 5 million euros.

From Getafe, the 31-year-old Portu returned. And now for the bigger names. Daley Blind arrived as a free agent from Bayern Munich, which came as a shock to many. Argentine goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who you may also know from Tottenham, also came as a free agent from Fulham.

In addition, Barcelona added midfielder Eric García and midfielder Pablo Torre to their Catalan team on loan. The 19-year-old Brazilian Savio, who arrived from Troyes, is also looking good.

In addition, the iconic Cristhian Stuani, the Ukrainian winger Viktor Tsygankov, who a few years ago played for Slavia in the Dynamo Kiev jersey, is already in the squad. The game is managed by the excellent midfielder Aleix García, who also played for the Citizens, while the young Real Madrid player Miguel Guttieréz, whom Los Blancos may soon recall, is playing on the left flank.

In the first round, Girona drew at Real Sociedad, which was initially taken as a valuable point. However, no one expected that to be the only loss for the Catalans, who have won their next six games in a row.

They beat Getafe 3-0 at home, then won 2-1 in Seville. They beat Las Palmas with an unusual 1:0 result, then came the devastation when Girona beat Granada 4:2 and Mallorca 5:3. Last time coach Míchel’s charges won at Villarreal and went to the top of the table.

With 19 points they are one point ahead of Real Madrid and two points ahead of Barcelona. They are five points behind fourth-placed Athletic. In addition, Girona, along with Barcelona, have the best attack in the league.

However, Girona can’t be happy with first place for long, as they face their biggest test yet on Saturday. It will welcome Real Madrid at home. They beat it 4-1 in the spring, but it has to be said that Los Blancos were already out of the title race and their deployment was not ideal. Now it will be a different story.

Saturday’s match (18:30) promises an extremely attractive spectacle and a thrilling battle for the top of the table. Can Girona clear another big hurdle and continue to dominate La Liga?

Source: Girona, Transfermarkt