Girona boss Michel told of his pride after the Spanish outfit were narrowly beaten by ‘the best team in the Champions League’ Liverpool.
The Reds continued their flawless record in his season’s competition as they earned a 1-0 win at Estadi Montilivi. Arne Slot’s side were far from their best and were indebted to goalkeeper Alisson Becker in the first half. Girona, in their maiden Champions League campaign, had several chances they could not take.
Liverpool needed the aid of VAR to muster the only goal of the game. Luis Diaz went down inside the box from a challenge by Donny van de Beek and although on-field referee Benoit Bastien did not signal a foul, he was recommended to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. Bastien overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty, which Mo Salah slotted home to book the Reds’ place in the last 16 with two matches to spare.
Girona look unlikely to make it to the play-off stage, having accrued only three points so far. And while Michel believes that is a ‘shame’ he took plenty of positives from Blanquivermells’ performance. Via AS, he said: “We played a decent game, I’m proud. We just have to control the small details. We played well and I think we played a great game. We competed against the best team in the Champions League. But, as I always say, beyond the result, I think our fans should be proud of the team. The players gave everything and were able to defend the spaces against a great team. Right now it’s a shame because we’re far from qualifying. It’s a difficult situation for us. We have to keep improving.”
On the penalty decision, Michel added: “When I saw him take his boot off, I already said that I was going to call the penalty. He doesn’t really touch him, but in football before, these situations weren’t called. Now they are and this is the reality of the VAR. I have never liked these situations, but they decided it was a penalty and that’s it. There’s nothing else to do.”
