Girona fall to dissappointing Champions League defeat – they could be knocked out | OneFootball

Girona faced a tough trip to Austria to face Sturm Graz in the league phase of this season’s revamped Champions League campaign.

In their latest disappointing performance in Europe, Michel’s side fell to a 1-0 defeat, which leaves them in 30th place in the league phase standings on just three points.

A goal around the hour mark from Mika Biereth was enough for the ‘home’ side to get the three points, but if Iván Martín had scored a tap-in opportunity from point-blank range, things could have been very different.

I use the word ‘home’ in inverted commas because the match was played in the Wörthersee Stadion, which is 150km from Graz.

This leaves the Catalan side two points off the playoff places, but their upcoming tough fixtures won’t fill them with much optimism about going through and playing European football in the new year.

They will face Liverpool at home next, followed by a trip to the San Siro to take on AC Milan, then a final home tie against Arsenal.

It would be nothing short of a miracle if Girona made it through now, but never count out La Liga’s true underdogs; many thought they wouldn’t make it here at all.

GSFN | Ciaran Currie