Captain Nacho sees red
Real pushes Girona off the top of the table
December 22, 2023, 12:51 a.m
Real Madrid is taking advantage of surprise leaders FC Girona’s slip-up and leading the Spanish football league at Christmas. Despite being outnumbered, the record champions can claim a late victory at Deportivo Alaves.
Spain’s record champions Real Madrid made it to the top of the Primera Division table in the last championship game of the year despite being long outnumbered and spoiled surprise team FC Girona’s Christmas in first place. With national player Antonio Rüdiger and 2014 world champion Toni Kroos in the starting line-up, Real won 1-0 (0-0) at Deportivo Alaves after a goal from Lucas Vazquez in stoppage time.
Girona had previously missed its 15th win of the season in its 18th game with a 1-1 (1-0) draw at Betis Sevilla and slipped to second place with 45 points behind the Madrilenians, who had the same number of points. Nevertheless: In the entire 2022/23 season, the Catalans only got four points more than they already have one game before the end of the first half of the season.
In Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque, Real struggled against the former UEFA Cup finalists. In the 54th minute, captain Nacho was shown a red card for a serious foul, according to video evidence. The problems in Madrid’s defense, which was already sparsely staffed following the loss of David Alaba (torn cruciate ligament), are growing. A corner from Kroos, who is again an issue for the national team more than two years after his retirement, was finally headed by Vazquez for the winning goal (90th + 2).
For Girona, Ukrainian international Artem Dowbyk took the lead with his eleventh goal of the season (39th penalty kick), which the team led by former Bayern professional Daley Blind held until the final phase. German Pezzella (88th) equalized late for the hosts with ex-Bundesliga players Marc Roca, Juan Miranda and Andres Guardado.