'Worried' Michel bemoans Girona's lack of intensity in Mallorca defeat

Girona head coach Michel insisted he was "worried" about his side's recent form after they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Mallorca on Saturday.

Donny van de Beek had opened the scoring for Girona in the sixth minute, but they were pegged back by Cyle Larin's strike soon after.

Vedat Muriqi was then sent off 12 minutes later after a poor challenge on Bryan Gil, but Girona were unable to make their man advantage count in the second half.

Larin netted his fourth LaLiga goal of the season six minutes after the interval, with Mallorca able to hold on to move up to fifth in the table after 18 games of their season.

Girona, meanwhile, sit 10th in the standings and are now without a win in their last six games in all competitions, leaving Michel frustrated with his side's display.

"The lack of intensity is always what worries me the most," Michel said.

"In attack and defence you have to pin down the opponent and go for it. Passing the ball around without being vertical is not the football I want for my team.

"I don't like what I've seen. I'm worried about that mentality of having the ball without generating and the lack of connection, only trying to create individual situations."

????-???? Van de Beek #MallorcaGirona pic.twitter.com/ShvK44gesM

— Girona FC (@GironaFC_Engl) December 14, 2024

"We weren't able to attack well against 10 players," Michel continued.

"We made a mistake, and they made it 2-1, and we resorted more to hurrying than to football to turn it around.

"We came into the game well but after the sending off we were too rash, we didn't create superiority."

Girona mustered up an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.68 from their 13 shots, though only one of which was on target, which was Van de Beek's opener.

Michel's side have scored just three goals in their last six games in all competitions, and the Girona boss acknowledged the situation his side find themselves in.

"I understand that my players want to do well, but we did poorly," Michel continued.

"We didn't look the opponent in the face, we had a few vertical situations. Football is played collectively, and we didn't play well ... The situation is not good."

Girona face second-bottom Real Valladolid next Friday before returning to league action on January 11 against Alaves, who are also struggling this season.

"We'll see if the Christmas break is good for us," Michel added.

"(For now) I'm thinking that we have an important game coming up and I'm worried.

"We do have the squad to fight for Europe, but (lately) I haven't found a way for the team to play well and be able to fight for this.

"We are capable, of course, but right now I haven't found the key and the responsibility is mine.

"I have to improve and make the players attack and defend together, not individually."

Junts. Sempre junts. Divendres. Montilivi. pic.twitter.com/GDrJ0AzJS2

— Girona FC (@GironaFC) December 14, 2024