Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz

Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona defeated Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.

Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced into a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.

After the match was stopped due to a fan falling ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.

Gil was also behind the second goal for Michel's side, as he took advantage of a defensive error and cross to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair came together again for a third five minutes later.

Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was headed home by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.

Espanyol scored a second-half consolation goal after ten minutes when Puado scored a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's goal.

Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.

La seva primera gran nit a Montilivi! pic.twitter.com/NC4p0kA5n3

— Girona FC (@GironaFC) November 23, 2024

Data debrief: a dominant display from Girona

Girona had 75.6% possession against Espanyol and generated an xG of 3.36 after twelve shots, five of which were on target, in the 90 minutes.

On the other hand, the visitors had just one shot on target all match and finished with an xG of 0.42.

Girona also attempted 772 passes in this match, the highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season, with a passing accuracy of 90.5%, as Espanyol were limited to a total of 236 passes.