European football: Girona back on track against Rayo, Roma boost top-four bid
Girona moved back into second place in La Liga with a 3-0 win over 10-man Rayo Vallecano on Monday evening. Michel’s side are six points behind the leaders, Real Madrid, after ending their threegame winless league run.
After a goalless first half at Estadi Montilivi, Girona finally broke down their stubborn opponents in the 52nd minute, when Viktor Tsygankov drilled home a cutback from Miguel Gutiérrez. The Rayo Vallecano substitute Pep Chavarría came on in the 64th minute and was then sent off in the 76th for two yellow cards in quick succession.
Sávio made the man advantage count with two goals in stoppage time, both from solo runs through a tired visiting defence. Victory keeps Girona’s hopes of a shock title win alive after back-to-back defeats at the Bernabéu and against Athletic Bilbao, as they climbed back above Catalan rivals Barcelona in the table.
In Serie A, Paulo Dybala scored a hat-trick as Roma beat Torino 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico to boost their hopes of securing European football next season.
Roma took the lead in the 42nd minute through Dybala’s penalty, but the visitors soon equalised as Duván Zapata planted a header into the bottom corner. Dybala restored Roma’s advantage in the 57th minute, curling in a long-range effort.
The Argentina forward completed his treble with 20 minutes left after a neat exchange with the substitute Romelu Lukaku. A late own goal from Dean Huijsen, who had come on to replace Chris Smalling, proved little consolation for Torino.
Daniele De Rossi’s resurgent side are sixth in the table, just four points behind Bologna in the fight for Champions League qualification. Fiorentina are three points further back in seventh after coming from behind to beat Lazio 2-1 at home and climb above them in the league table.
After the hosts had hit the woodwork three times, Lazio went ahead against the run of play shortly before half-time when Luis Alberto finished off a swift counterattack. Fiorentina were back on level terms just after the hour through defender Michael Kayode, before Nicolás González struck the post with a penalty kick.
Fiorentina did get themselves in front with 20 minutes left when Giacomo Bonaventura knocked in a rebound to complete the comeback and edge a point above Maurizio Sarri’s side in the battle for Europe.