Real Betis slice open Girona as wounds grow ever more concerning for Catalan side | OneFootball

Girona 1-3 Real Betis

Relegation concerns were further deepened in the North of Catalonia on Monday night, as Real Betis sliced through Girona to take all three points from Montilivi.

The small section of traveling fans did not have to wait long for their breakthrough, despite an injury to the face of Aitor Ruibal. Early pressure resulted in a corner from Isco being converted by Johnny Cardoso inside eight minutes. A silenced home crowd were coaxed back into the game slowly, as Girona began to push for the equaliser. An uncharacteristic giveaway from Isco required a fine save from Adrian Sanchez to prevent Yaser Asprilla providing it.

However the decisive phase of the match occurred not long after, with Betis ripping through the Girona defence after 37 minutes. Left-back Romain Perraud won the ball back, and then provided a lovely cross to the back post, which allowed Antony to finish first-time on the volley into the opposite corner, typical of his recent confidence. Betis were in fluid form at this point, and after Ez Abde was denied by Paulo Gazzaniga, he recovered the loose ball. His clipped cross was nodded down by the arriving Isco to more or less sentence the game.

Image via Real Betis CF

After half-time an improved Girona came forward with renewed ambition, but their inability to convert what they did create felt as if it carried more weight than their improvement. Arnaut Danjuma blazed over after a neat counter-attack through Betis, while Cristian Portu also failed to find a teammate after working his way into a good position. Adrian was again called into action to prevent Portu again after a giveaway, but at the other end, Cucho Hernandez passed up an excellent chance to make it four. By that point, the game appeared to be slipping away from Girona though.

In the final five minutes, captain Cristhian Stuani bundled home a late goal for Girona from a corner, but it did little to the result. A comfortable win for Betis including some fine play from Manuel Pellegrini’s side moved Los Verdiblancos within a point of Villarreal, widening the gap to RCD Mallorca in seventh to seven points. Girona have just a three-point cushion to the drop zone now, and a blockbuster trip to Leganes on Thursday evening. The prospect of a nightmarish relegation looms on the horizon for Michel Sanchez’s side though, and there is no longer any illusion that they are firmly in the battle, with no wins in their last ten games.