Girona have finally broken their La Liga winless streak as the Catalans moved a step closer to survival via a 1-0 home win over Mallorca.
The hosts were without a win in their 11 league games priori to hosting Mallorca at the Estadi Montilivi but the hosts produced a vital win.
Veteran striker Crithian Stuani proved to be the difference maker once again as he popped inside the opening 10 minutes to steer home his ninth league goal of the campaign.
Always him. What a player.
Girona spent €15.5m on forwards last summer, and the 38-year-old Stuani has as many goals as both Abel Ruiz and Bojan Miovski together. Top scorer for the team too. pic.twitter.com/mXL1RBcZSi
— Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) May 5, 2025
The 38-year-old has done his bit in recent weeks, with the eventual winner in this clash coming as his third in three games, including a draw with Leganes and defeat to high-flying Real Betis.
Both sides carved out half chances before the break but Girona took charge after the restart as they pushed for a second goal on the night in front of a buoyant home crowd.
Cristhian Stuani gives Girona the lead! 🇺🇾
The veteran striker scores with a powerful strike from close range to make it 1-0 💥
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/UGx0opQ9U3
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 5, 2025
Yangel Herrera and Viktor Tsygankov both missed chances to wrap the game up, but eventually Stuani’s strike proved enough, as the relegation picture takes a twist with four games to go in 2024/25.
A vital victory moves Girona up to 15th in the table with 38 points on the board and a six-point gap above the relegation zone.
La Liga relegation latest
As the standings settled before the final run of games, a space has now opened up either side of the relegation line, with Real Valladolid already down.
Leganes are on 31 points, in 19th place, with Las Palmas on 32 in 18th, with a new four-point cushion to Alaves in 17th.
With eighth place likely to be enough for a UEFA Europa Conference League spot, that keeps Mallorca in the hunt, despite this result.
They join Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano all on 44 points gained but with Rayo holding a head-to-head edge as it stands.
Images via Getty Images/OneFootball
