Girona 2-0 Slovan Bratislava: Hosts battle to first Champions League win

Miguel Gutierrez and Juanpe scored in either half to earn Girona a 2-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava, and a first-ever win in the Champions League.

Gutierrez and Arnaut Danjuma combined brilliantly throughout on the left wing, and it was the latter’s run to the byline and pull-back that set up the wing-back to break the deadlock for the Spaniards with a first-time finish three minutes before half-time.

Playing in their first European season, Girona continued to outclass their Slovakian visitors after the break, and Dominik Takac saved brilliantly from Bojan Miovski in the 54th minute to prevent the home side from increasing their lead.

It took a moment of brilliance from Juanpe in the 73rd minute to make it 2-0, with his direct free-kick glancing off one of the players in the wall before flying into the net.

Cristhian Stuani’s late penalty was saved well by Dominic Takac, while Paulo Gazzaniga was called into late action to preserve his clean sheet by keeping out Tigran Barseghyan’s curling effort.

Girona now sit 20th in the 36-team table, while Slovan remain bottom after three straight defeats, with a goal difference of -10.