AC MILAN v GIRONA: OPPONENT REVIEW

AC Milan's Champions League journey resumes with a totally new opponent: the Rossoneri are preparing to face Girona at San Siro. They were last season's great surprise in La Liga and are playing in Europe's top competition for the first time in their history. The Catalans are playing in their first ever official match against an Italian team, while for us, it will be our twelfth Spanish rival in continental tournaments. Girona are coming off an unstable start to 2025, as an away success at Alavés was followed by a home defeat against Sevilla last weekend.

The historic debut in the Champions League has been rather turbulent for Míchel's team, who have so far picked up one win (2-0 over Slovan Bratislava) and five defeats, four of which were by one goal, against PSG, Feyenoord, Sturm Graz and Liverpool. Girona's chances of qualification are slim - after the match at San Siro, Girona will close the league phase at home against Arsenal - and they are dependent on a full three points in Milan. In any case, you can expect a team determined to honour the challenge with their very best effort.

A PROACTIVE BUT VULNERABLE GIRONA
A team with a pleasant, proactive game, always trying to impose themselves up front. This season, Girona are not replicating the successes of 2023/24, achieved by surprising their opponents day after day in a league as competitive as La Liga. Eighth place in Spain (but recovering after a complicated start), outside of the top 24 in Europe and already eliminated in the Copa del Rey, the Catalans said goodbye to important players from last season in the summer, such as Sávio, Aleix García and Dovbyk above all, but the tactical strategies of Michel's team have remained fairly unchanged. A 4-3-3 in some ways not too dissimilar to the Rossoneri's, in which the forwards stand out for their search for width and depth. The contribution of the full-backs is also important: compared to AC Milan, it is above all the right-back - Arnau Martínez - who is key to the build-up phase, with the left-back joining the two centre-backs.

Certain details are missing, however, especially in the Champions League. For example, in counter-pressing, where a prompt recovery of the ball could lead to opportunities, Girona is the only team in this European season yet to attempt a shot following a counter-attack, and also the bottom of the competition table for defensive recoveries. So far, the Catalans have been rarely dangerous on crosses (just a 20.2% success rate) and have not shown the same effectiveness on passes in Europe as they have in the league. At home, they are behind only Real Madrid and Barcelona in the number of passes, but in Europe only 17th. Another aspect on which Girona have suffered are the fouls committed: in the Champions League, only Young Boys (88) have committed more fouls than the Catalans.

A MIX OF OLD AND NEW HANDS, AND WATCH OUT FOR DANJUMA
In their three European outings away from home, Girona have failed to find the net, which is perhaps surprising given they scored 85 La Liga goals in 2023/24. In terms of their attack, Abel Ruiz, who signed from Braga in the summer, is the focal point up front, although he's had quite a disappointing campaign so far (just three league goals). Lining up behind him is captain Stuani, who arrived in 2017 and is the club's all-time top scorer. Out wide, Míchel has the Colombian Asprilla and the Ukrainian Tsygankov to choose from down the right flank. The former is the most expensive signing in Girona's history and is also looking to find his form in what has been a challenging season.

On the left, it's the Spaniard (and former Tottenham) Bryan Gil or the Dutchman Danjuma, in recovery in the last few days and a great star in this competition three years ago with Villarreal (together with our Chukwueze), as well as being the Girona player who has attempted the most shots in the Champions League so far with 11. Other important players include the Dutchmen van de Beek and Blind, as well as the 2001-born Gutiérrez, one of the four who played all six Champions League matches so far. Also with him are Stuani, the Czech defender Krejčí and the experienced Argentine goalkeeper Gazzaniga, one of the top keepers in this Champions League edition in terms of the number of saves made.

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