Girona will finish top five, but the race for the top four could go to the wire

Girona manager Michel Sanchez picked a curious moment to declare that his side were not just aiming for European qualification, but hoping to trek to the holy grail: the Champions League. Arguably, their worst night of the season. Billed as a top of the table clash, Girona could have gone level with Real Madrid had they won at the Santiago Bernabeu, but within five minutes they were a goal down, and by the time the 90 were up, Girona were lucky not to be five down.

All the same, Michel said his side would plough ahead and for the first time this season, placed expectations on his side beyond avoiding relegation and seeing where the season took them. Since, they’ve lost three on the bounce away from home, and now lie seven points shy of Los Blancos.

The positive is that they still have a nine-point advantage over Athletic Club in fifth place. Just below, a point behind, are Barcelona, and four points back are Atletico Madrid. That gap to the Basques looks large, but it does not seem out of the question that Los Leones could overhaul Atletico, and it seems almost inevitable that Atletico will eventually overpower Girona.

However it’s race that will be fascinating to the death – click here to watch it in person – and there are a number of factors to take into account. Firstly, Girona were, regardless of points totals, playing the best football in Spain, and that is no longer the case. While neither results nor play have fallen off a cliff, their ability to frequently concede and overhaul their opponents is significantly reduced.

Secondly, the direct clashes, where Girona still have to face both Atleti and Barcelona, while Athletic must play Real Madrid and Atletico still. Los Rojiblancos must play all of their direct competitors, as is the case for Barcelona, save for Athletic. If Girona can avoid defeat in one or both of them, they have enough quality to feel they can outdo the rest of the league.

With 11 matches to go,  5 of their opponents are in the bottom half, and winning those five games would put them on the verge of the top four. In order to put away those sides though, recovering the goalscoring form of Artem Dovbyk will be essential, who has not scored since

Working in their favour is the fact that Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic all have commitments in other competitions, although for all three that might mean just one more game. The position Girona have put themselves in means that they do not need a miracle in the run-in – but keeping their composure is the key to achieving the miracle.

La Liga - Club News