Mallorca 1-0 Girona: High-flying Girona slump to third successive away defeat

High-flying Girona's lofty LaLiga title hopes were dashed on Sunday with a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Mallorca, their third consecutive away loss.

Girona, the season's early pacesetters, went unbeaten in 15 consecutive league games until they were thrashed 4-0 by Real Madrid three weeks ago, and they haven't been the same since, winning only one of their last five.

They remain second in the standings with 59 points, seven behind leaders Real Madrid and two ahead of third-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand and will face Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday.

Despite signs that Michel's well-oiled machine was not running as smoothly as it could, Girona appeared to be on track to push for their first LaLiga title.

They are now in danger of being overtaken by Barcelona and fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, who are closing in on them with 55 points.

Energized by a hard-fought penalty win over Real Sociedad in midweek that earned them a spot in the Copa del Rey final, Mallorca were dangerous on the counter against a toothless Girona, who dominated possession but lacked ideas up front.

Jose Copete scored the winner in the 33rd minute, pouncing on a loose ball to find the top corner, and Mallorca held on to their narrow lead with a flawless defensive performance to frustrate Girona, who had gone 11 away games unbeaten prior to their recent poor form.

"We lacked aggression in attack," Girona manager Michel told Movistar Plus.

"We were imprecise in the first half, they scored a goal from a strategic play and we didn't make our chances count in an intense and evenly matched game."

SportsLigue