Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Girona
Rayo Vallecano and Girona finished their Monday night tie in Vallecas level, and they finished the weekend where they started it. The home side probably safe, but not guaranteed, and the away team teetering precariously above the drop zone. That says little of the emotions they went through to get there though.
Visitors Girona felt more comfortable in the opening 20 minutes, stringing some slick passes together, but it tended to end at the edge of the box. Azzedine Ounahi was the surprise choice to lead the line, and the lack of focal point, albeit something that has been the case with Claudio Echeverri in recent weeks, was conspicuous by absence. It was their press that brought about the first chance of the game, winning the ball back in Rayo’s left-back area. Joel Roca was the beneficiary, and he rounded goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, but could not find a route past Andrei Ratiu’s last-ditch block.
TEAM NEWS
⚡ #RayoVallecano make few changes to the side that won in Strasbourg, Camello, Fran Pérez and Pedro Díaz on for Alemão, Akhomach and the suspended Isi.
🔴⚪ #GironaFC leave out Echeverri, looks like Tsygankov, Roca and Ounahi/Lemar leading the line. pic.twitter.com/19AM5gk9lk
— Football España (@footballespana_) May 11, 2026
It wasn’t long before Rayo managed to drag Girona into a scrappier game though. The home side put the squeeze on in midfield, pushing into the Girona half for the following 15 minutes. Jorge de Frutos fizzed a ball across goal, Sergio Camello couldn’t quite get a shot off from close in, but the opening was coming. It was Camello who it came to. On an increasingly rare foray forward, Girona were robbed in the middle of midfield, and Unai Lopez lofted it over the top. Camello was quick enough, his touch was good enough, but Paulo Gazzaniga’s save low down to his left was better.
The second half began with a little more open space for both sides. Rayo were pushing forward more, but Girona’s counter-attacks were gaining speed. Roca had another shot blocked, while Fran Beltran rounded off a fine move with a shot from the edge of the box, which required a flying save from Augusto Batalla.
The game entered a period of relative balance after the opening 10 minutes of the second half, in which neither side could secure the upper hand for a spell of more than a few minutes. Neither side found clear sights at goal, but if Rayo went forward with peace of mind of a Conference League finalist, Girona were urged on with the tension of a side that began the match just a point above the drop zone.
With just five minutes remaining, Rayo couldn’t have called it a chance, but they did manage to find Alemao on the edge of the box. Having already had several thundered efforts, the bustling target man’s deflected effort swirled away from the helpless Gazzaniga, and a helpless Girona. If the Rayo celebrations were of satisfaction, of faith, and above all, safety, Girona’s despair was just as deep.
Throughout their this spell in La Liga though, Girona have had a goal in them, and when they’ve needed it most, it’s been provided by Cristhian Stuani. The Uruguayan came on in the 82nd minute, collected the captain’s armband, and barely, if at all, touched the ball until the ten minutes later. Girona were coming forward almost out of duty rather than anything more, when a set-piece was floated his direction. Stuani in a bunch of flowers, was the closest to the sun, and his header was pinpoint, kissing the inside of the post as it bounced in.
Íñigo Pérez, 38, watches Cristhian Stuani, 39, come on to cause problems. pic.twitter.com/otz8ZWC5Uf
— Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) May 11, 2026
Immediately the Uruguayan, sprinting would be a push for the 39-year-old so used to scoring big goals, went to Michel Sanchez on the sidelines. If there’s an image that the Girona manager might keep with him, it was the yellow jerseys huddled together, a pineapple as they say in Spain, tightly knit. Girona lie two points ahead of Alaves in 18th place, and the point will not provide a sound sleep for their supporters, but it could remind them that they too can capture points without from unlikely positions, having lost their last three by a one-goal margin. The Catalans host Real Soceidad on Thursday.
Rayo themselves have a relatively luxurious six-point gap to Alaves, and with three games to go would consider themselves dramatically unlucky to be sweating on the final day. Yet Inigo Perez will be left with a sour taste in his mouth, knowing that his side were minutes away from hoisting the victory flag for the survival ‘title’ as he referred to it before the game. A trip to Mestalla represents their next chance to do so.
