BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Girona rolled to a 6-2 thrashing of Almeria in the Spanish league on Friday in a lopsided meeting of two promoted teams.
Striker Valentín Castellanos got the hosts going in the eighth minute. Ukraine forward Viktor Tsygankov, who joined from Dynamo Kyiv in January, doubled the lead in the 34th and Girona never looked back. Rodrigo Riquelme and Javi Hernández made it 4-0 before halftime.
Iván Martín and Cristhian Stuani added two more goals for Girona in the second half, while Largie Ramazani and El Bilal Touré scored for Almeria.
“As far as attack goes, this was our best game of the season,” Girona coach Míchel Sánchez said. “Everything went our way today because we were able to find open spaces behind their defense.”
Girona remained in 11th place. With 33 goals, the modest club from northeast Spain has the third most potent attack in the 20-team competition. Only Real Madrid (44) and Barcelona (43) have scored more.
Almeria was left in 15th place at two points above the relegation zone.
“This is a game to forget. I must ask (our fans) for forgiveness because in the first half we were not up to the task,” Almeria coach Rubi Ferrer said. “The fault is mine. I think that talking this week about needing to win on the road made my team play with nerves.”
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