Last Sunday, Barcelona were stunned at home. The Catalan giants were outplayed, outcoached and quite frankly, humbled by their local rivals at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.
Humbled is a word you associate with Barcelona when they are pummeled by Bayern Munich or bitter rivals Madrid, yet shock waves travelled across the footballing world when they lost 4-2 to Girona, yes Girona.
The win over Barcelona saw Girona amass over 40 points on the board and miles of the relegation zone. They are without a doubt, this season’s surprise package and as it stands, sit top of the La Liga two points clear of Real Madrid and seven points of Barcelona and Atletico.
In 16 matches played so far this season, the small side from Catalonia have managed to win 13, drawn two and lost one. Quite impressive for a team who only made it to Primera in 2017 and went down again two years later, whose budget is 14 times smaller than Real Madrid’s, less even than bottom placed Almería.
“I think we’re mathematically safe,” said their coach, Michel Sánchez. The former Rayo Vallecano and Huesca manager has had his fair share of suffering relegations and celebrating promotions. The game against Barcelona, was his 100th in the Primera la Liga, and one which he described as his “best”.
At the start of the season many pundits and football journalists declared that Girona were looking to “make history” – by reaching a third consecutive year in la Liga. The objective for Michel, was probably to avoid the drop. However, with 16 weeks under the belt and with 22 to go, Girona look to have secured their place in the first division for another season and maybe, a top of the table finish.
The possibility of qualifying for the champions league doesn’t seems farfetched for now, Michel and his boys will be relishing in the historic campaign they are having. Afterall, it is quite fanciful to imagine a time, where a small club in Spain, would dare to challenge the dominance of Real Madrid or Barcelona.