"62 points not enough for the Champions League"

Girona coach Michel Sanchez said after Saturday's 2-0 win over Osasuna that the team is "in a privileged position" to achieve the objective of playing in the Champions League and go into the last 10 games "with an advantage", but warned that the current 62 points will not be enough.

He also admitted that "it is an important victory" and also necessary because recent results had generated "a bit of doubt, more outside than inside".

The coach admitted that in the first half there was a lack of verticality and change of pace because the team was "a bit tense", but in the second half his players offered "a very good version" and he was "very happy with the team and with the game", against an opponent who travelled to Montilivi having taken ten points from the last 12.

In this sense, Michel claimed that Osasuna only shot once at goal and that the defence stopped Ante Budimir "a lot": "It was a match to remember on a defensive level, against a team that generates a lot of chances". In addition, he stated that the penalty not given when Alejandro Catena fouled Sávio Moreira seemed to him "quite clear both because of Savio's speed and because he was charged from behind when the opponent had no chance to play".

The coach also pointed out that when Girona are loose and "there can be back and forth" they are a "very dangerous" team and arrive "with strength and a lot of people in the opponent's box". He also explained that the first examination of Viktor Tsygankov's knee, who was substituted due to injury, "doesn't look bad" pending further tests.

On the debut of young Jastin Garcia, he said that "he has been a bit distracted these weeks, but he has a brutal talent in one-on-one play". "He has a lot of things to improve on a day-to-day basis and he has to train to really grow, not to get into a physical rhythm. He has to improve and grow. He has to have that mentality, that commitment and that sporting culture. When he learns that, that will bring a lot of things", concluded the coach.

 

March 10, 2024