BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Vladislav Vanat scored in stoppage time in both halves and Girona beat Espanyol 2-0 on Friday in a tight La Liga Catalan derby.
This is the first time since November 2024 that Girona has won three consecutive championships.
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The result lifted them to ninth place in the standings. Espanyol remain fifth.
Girona were the better side in the first half and took the lead at half-time when Omar El Hilali was adjudged to have brought down Hugo Rincón in the penalty area.
Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic saved Vanat’s initial shot, but the referee said he had left the goal line before kick-off and ordered a restart. Vannatter made no mistake for the second time, firing a perfect shot to the right of the goalkeeper.
Both sides had chances in the second half, but Girona took advantage of the space in the Espanyol defense and the home team equalized.
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Ukrainian striker Vanat sealed all three points with his second goal of the night after Yáser Asprilla was brought down by Rubén Sánchez with seconds remaining.
“The decision to give the first penalty was very harsh,” Espanyol veteran defender Leandro Cabrera said. “There were a thousand similar situations, but they were never called back. We lost patience. In the last minutes, another penalty decision killed the game. It’s a pity because the game was very close. A draw would have been a fair result.”
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer