The dream of the Conference League remained a mere illusion. Girona closed a magnificent season on its return to the First Division with a defeat against Osasuna (2-1) and was left without Europe. Míchel's team needed to win on the last day and for Real Madrid to beat Athletic at the Bernabéu. Neither of the two circumstances occurred, and finally it will be the Navarrese who play the Conference League.
Despite the final disappointment, the red and white fans have plenty of reasons to be proud of their team. Until the end, he has competed above what his budget initially dictated and he also did so by practicing happy and offensive football and providing a large number of victories in Montilivi.
In the El Sadar match, the locals were superior at the start and had the clearest chances. Gazzaniga was the protagonist to prevent Osasuna from getting ahead in the first half. Always irreverent, Girona also demanded a lot from Aitor in the other goal. Before the break, Bernardo had a very clear header that put fear in the body of the Navarrese.
At the restart, Míchel's team found themselves totally outclassed by an Osasuna who brought out Jagoba Arrasate's offensive manual. In two very quick actions, he sealed the game in just three minutes. In the first, Kike Barja assisted Budimir after a personal move. In the second, the striker scored with a header after a great cross from Moncayola. In the blink of an eye, Girona's European options had vanished.
With nothing to lose, Míchel tried to make his team more offensive and that's how the best chances came. Taty Castellanos and Tsygankov were able to score before Renier (75) closed the gap to bring excitement to the final minutes of the game. Stuani had the tie in a final in which Gazzaniga ended up sent off for handling the ball outside the area.
With this victory, the Navarrese finished seventh and will play in Europe, while Girona finished in a creditable ninth position and will try to come back stronger next year to fight for the first European qualification in its history.
