Girona should not have played in wake of flood disaster, says Michel

Michel believes Girona’s LaLiga match against Leganes should not have been played following flash floods that have devastated parts of eastern Spain.

Girona won a thrilling contest 4-3 on Saturday.

However, the match came after several days of flooding that has left over 200 people dead, with dozens unaccounted for.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone earlier criticised the decision to hold most of the LaLiga matches this weekend, a sentiment echoed by Michel.

“We shouldn’t celebrate anything since this match shouldn’t have been played,” the Girona boss said.

“Taking three points after the physical and mental toll of playing in different competitions and travelling, the team gives everything, and that’s very positive.”

Girona’s Miguel Gutierrez, who opened the scoring, marked the goal by holding up a shirt that read: ‘This is for you, Henry. Go Valencia’.

‍‍‍ pic.twitter.com/2E7ImUPq6v

— Girona FC (@GironaFC) November 2, 2024

“The first shirt I lifted was for my friend Enrique, whose mother is missing. She was swept away by the current, and they’re still trying to find her,” he said.

The 23-year-old said the past few days had been emotional.

“I believe the match takes a backseat. Aside from Madrid, the city I’ve spent the most time in where I have the most friends and connections is Valencia,” Gutierrez said.

“I can assure you that I’ve seen videos and been on video calls with friends and it’s a complete disaster, an absolute nightmare.”

Focusing on the match, Michel acknowledged the defensive performance was not good enough from his team, who conceded only eight shots, though five of those were on target, with Leganes scoring three goals from an expected goals (xG) of just 0.4.

“We competed well; the first half was very good, but we conceded two goals from situations we could have defended better,” he said.

“Even though I wanted to make changes to bring in the young players at 4-2, the 4-3 score complicated things. It was a tough situation for them. As coaches, we want to control the game more, but it turned out this way.”