Girona 3-0 Rayo Vallecano: Savinho scores twice as Girona reclaims second spot

Girona's Brazilian winger Savinho scored twice in added time to help the hosts defeat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in torrential rain on Monday, returning the season's surprise LaLiga package to second place in the table.

Girona rebounded from two consecutive losses and now have 59 points, six behind Real Madrid and two ahead of third-placed Barcelona.

Girona were the season's early pacesetters, going unbeaten in 15 consecutive league games until a 4-0 thrashing at Real Madrid and a 3-2 loss away to Athletic Bilbao, which put the Catalans' lofty title ambitions into perspective.

On Monday, they dominated possession against Rayo but struggled to find the net on a surface that deteriorated in the rain, only managing one shot on goal in the opening half.

Girona's Ukraine forward Artem Dovbyk, the third highest scorer in LaLiga this season with 14 goals, missed three close-range chances before his compatriot Viktor Tsygankov broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute.

The visitors were reduced to ten men when Pep Chavarria was sent off in the 76th minute for receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, and Savinho took advantage of two quick counterattacks to work his magic, scoring twice in a four-minute span to seal the win for the Catalans.

"The scoring does not reflect what the match was like, because it was evenly matched," Girona manager Michel told DAZN.

"However, I'm glad that we've regained second place. We're once again the top scorers in LaLiga. These are data we like and make us want to remain the same until the end of the season."

Girona have now scored 57 goals in 26 games, one more than Barcelona and three more than Real Madrid.

SportsLigue