Last season, Girona were in danger of being relegated as the team struggled with repeated defeats, managed by Savinho and Artem Dovbyk. Manager Michel Sanchez looked desperate as he searched for a new recipe, with his team locked out at the start of the season. So where did the coach get his ingredients for this?
Michel insisted for months that his team could not continue to rely on individual wisdom, and instead came up with a collective formula. Azzedine Ounahi became Girona’s magnet, adding attacking intent, turning them into cardio exercises. The Moroccan combines poise and purpose, while his technical quality makes him a difficult player to defend against one-on-one. One of Girona’s few cool players, speeding up or slowing down the team depending on needs, Michel has missed out on Ounahi’s presence since Aleix Garcia’s departure to Bayern Leverkusen, and a low price of €6 million.
When in doubt, always sign Ukrainian. Vladyslav Vanat is another signing that made an immediate impact. He has registered eight goals in La Liga, and looks better when paired with Viktor Tsygankov and Ounahi. Vanat, unlike other strikers, has few attempts; he prefers to count his shots, his goals come when they are needed most. Scoring against Osasuna and Mallorca in the final minutes, he was the difference between a draw and victory. His confidence gradually grew, which led him to help against Barcelona in the Catalan derby.
🎯 Segueix sumant goals!#AlavésGirona #laligahighlights pic.twitter.com/6tiflKjNxn
— Girona FC (@GironaFC) February 24, 2026
All goals are for naught if the defense concedes a double. For Michel, this was one of the key takeaways at the start of the season. Victory is determined by the state of the backline, where a lack of discipline often cripples Girona. Michel’s side have conceded 37 goals, the most of any team in the top division of La Liga. However, Girona is creating more and more chances than its opponent, even when playing in a draw with Alaves (2-2). It is the only game in the last five in which Girona have conceded more than once, showing a strong defense, which was often broken by counter attacks. With Daley Blind remaining behind while Vitor Reis covers more ground, the center back is looking organized again.
More importantly, the win against Barcelona gave the team the confidence needed to continue building in midfield under pressure, where Girona have been very precise in attack. Michel always knows that his team cannot afford to be complacent, even if they have climbed to 11th place in La Liga.
Defeats often felt predictable as Girona repeatedly folded in seemingly comfortable situations, a physical problem, but more down to mental errors. There was a sense of fate leading to game after game, which made the team fail. This seems to be gone for now, which has been Michel’s biggest success of the season so far. The attack used to run, faster than most defenders can run. The result? They couldn’t defend, and the attack didn’t look much better. Even in intense matches, they learned to pause, thanks to the experience of Axel Witsel, and Ounahi’s magnetic force.
When the group appeared, so did Michel. Last season, his prowess led him to believe that his attack could be expected to fix the problems of the defense, ignoring the fact that he did not have players to pick opponents. He learned from it, continuing to make mid-game changes by varying the number of defenders in the back line depending on his team’s weaknesses. His style of play was fluid, but his coaching style was rigid, refusing to adapt and run against the same brick wall.
🤹♀️ When two magicians come together…#GironaAlavés #LALIGAHighlights
— Girona FC (@GironaFC_Engl) February 24, 2026
With his prowess in the final third evident, Ounahi, who holds the keys to the flow of the game, was instructed to play up (or down) depending on how the team was dealing with the opposing pressure scheme. Wherever he goes, he ends up breaking the streak that Girona used to face. Girona no longer plays with black and white rules, opting for a more balanced approach where they don’t expand as much as they used to.
The difference between Girona (11) and those struggling to stay in La Liga is not among the players signed. There aren’t many, although both Ounahi and Vanat are the result of clever exploration. The changes affect Michel’s mind as much as that of his players. It meant letting go of convention, what ‘worked’, and taking a more rational approach. If Girona want to go up, Ounahi’s magnetism can pull them up the table.
