Abel Ruiz Returns for Girona Before Rayo Vallecano - Girona
Girona head into rayo vallecano - girona on Monday one point above the relegation zone, and Abel Ruiz is back in the squad for a match that could shape their immediate fight to stay clear of danger. Míchel says the team has improved, but the margin is still thin.
Míchel Reinforces Girona
“La Liga es tan complicada e igualada, que dos o tres resultados negativos hacen que estés en la misma situación que al principio. Pero hemos mejorado mucho,” Míchel said on Sunday at the pre-match press conference. That is the backdrop for Girona’s trip: they are not chasing a routine result, but trying to keep a small gap between themselves and the drop zone.
“Estábamos preparados,” he said when asked about the possibility of facing Rayo Vallecano in the relegation zone. “Preocupación, sí. Responsabilidad, toda. Pero trabajo, a full, al 200%.”
Abel Ruiz Joins Stuani
Ruiz gives Girona another option after a stretch in which their forward group was stretched thin. He has played 278 minutes in 11 matches this season and has not scored, but his return matters because Girona have gone four matches without a win and have not won since beating Villarreal.
The scoring record explains why the return is useful. Girona have scored 36 goals, carry a minus 15 goal difference and have conceded 51, while Vanat’s season ended a month ago after the top scorer reached 10 goals in 29 matches and then suffered a hamstring injury. Míchel used Claudio Echeverri as a false nine during the last month when no center forwards were available.
Stuani And The Run
Stuani has been the most reliable natural striker left in the group. He has played in 18 matches, started two and scored four goals in 355 minutes, a lighter workload than last season when he scored 11 and five of those came in the last seven matches.
Girona know this stretch can tilt quickly. They took seven points from the last seven matches last season to secure their place in Primera División, and this time they enter a run of three matches in six days with only one point between them and the relegation zone.
Rayo add another layer to the task because they are the sixth team that has conceded the fewest goals this season. Girona do not need a long-range outlook to read the table; they need a result on Monday and a forward line that can finally take some of the pressure off the back end of the season.
