By Darwin Largo
Real Madrid and Girona are playing one of the most interesting games of the week in European soccer. Carlo Ancelotti's team are usually one of the protagonists of every La Liga season, mostly thanks to the talent of stars like Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric, Rodrygo Goes and Toni Kroos. But this year they have an unexpected rival at the top of the standings.
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Match of the week: Real Madrid and Girona face each other to be La Liga leaders
Los Tozudos surprised everyone with an impressive performance this season: in their first 23 matches, they have 17 wins and 5 draws, which puts them in second place in the tournament. The only match they lost in La Liga 2023/24 was precisely against Real Madrid at the Montilivi Stadium and those three points are what today allow Los Merengues to have a lead in the standings.
And during the first half the hosts proved to be better than their rivals. They controlled the ball, pushed Girona close to their own box and created several chances to score. That's how after 6 minutes Vinicius Junior netted the opener with a beautiful right-footed shot from outside the box that was impossible for Argentine goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga to save.
But that was not all. With only ten minutes left before halftime, Los Merengues doubled the lead thanks to another stroke of genius from the Brazilian winger. In this case it was not a goal, but an impressive assist to Jude Bellingham, who entered the box, dribbled the goalkeeper and then shot with his left foot avoiding the save of a defender covering the goal.
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Ahead of key game vs. Girona, Real Madrid received terrible news
Real Madrid's first-half lead seems too big for Girona to recover from after the break. That is why manager Carlo Ancelotti may decide to make changes so as not to place unnecessary demands on his main stars, considering that in just three days they will face RB Leipzig in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. The substitutes are Kepa Arrizabalaga, Diego Piñeiro, Francisco García, Ramón, Dani Ceballos, Brahim Díaz, Luka Modric, Arda Guler and Joselu.
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