‘Astonishing’ manager Manchester United like batters Barcelona to secure UCL spot

One managed by a tactician who’s reputation has grown to such an extent during a historic campaign that, if reports are to be believed, he is one of those under consideration to take Ten Hag’s place in the Manchester United dugout.

Could Michel replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United?

For the first time in their 94-year history, Girona will have a seat at Europe’s top table in 2024/25.

The Catalan outfit – the eternal ‘poor relations’ to their gold-plated neighbours – had never beaten Barcelona before until triumphing 4-2 away from home in December.

Like the proverbial London busses, after winning nearly a century for one derby win, two arrived in the space of just a few months. Girona ran Barca into the ground again on Saturday, their much-admired head coach Michel masterminding the kind of ferocious, heavy-metal display that has become the Blanquivermells‘ trademark.

With 73 goals, only champions Real Madrid (74) have scored more in La Liga. Eight of those have now come against Barcelona, Michel’s Girona tearing into Xavi’s backline, cancelling out Andreas Christensen’s opener within a few seconds via Pichichi-leader Artem Dovbyk before moving above their red-and-blue-clad neighbours into second spot.

Of course, this is not all Fairytales and stardust. The Manchester City connection will, for some, make this less of a Disney-esque tale of wonder and something which leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth.

But, still, that should not distract from one of the greatest achievements in modern European football, Michel doing like Claudio Ranieri did during that Leicester City campaign and taking a crop of players for whom even mid-table looked like a lofty ambition – including an ageing Daley Blind – towards heights few would have imagined possible.

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“They’ve lost one home game, against Real Madrid. They’ve beaten Barcelona home and away. They score a lot of goals, they concede a lot of goals, it is their style,” Terry Gibson, the former Man United forward and Spanish football expert, tells El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast.

“I’m one of those who thought, you can do this in a cup run with a team that is punching above their weight, you can do five or six games. But to do it over the course of the whole season with players you never expected… It’s their fourth-ever season in La Liga!

“At the start of the season, I can’t imagine there was one player thought ‘we should be pushing for the top four’. No chance! We compare it to Leicester. They are a million miles away from being as big as Leicester! They havent got the history of a Leicester.

“What they have done is astonishing. They had a little wobble. They lost five in eight between week 24 and 31, and part of me was thinking this was the wobble we expected. I am happy to be proved wrong. I couldn’t be happier.”

For Gibson, this was a performance of trademark Girona, for better or for worse. Could such risky, ambitious tactics work at a club of the stature of Manchester United, The Telegraph reporting that Michel has admirers at an Old Trafford outfit who now employ ex-City chief Omar Berrada as CEO?

There are certainly a few worrying shades of Ten Hag-esque chaos in the way Michel’s side play. But with added the commitment, the ‘bravery’ that a confidence-shy United have lacked more often than not.

‘Spectacularly successful’

“I am pleased we saw their true style in this game (against Barcelona). We saw everything we’ve seen from Girona this season wrapped up in one game,” Gibson adds. “They were getting totally outplayed for 20 minutes in the second-half. Barcelona could have been three or four goals ahead before the introduction of Portu.”

Ten Hag’s in-game management has long been a cause for concern, but you could not label the same accusations at Michel on Saturday.

Veteran forward Portu came off the bench in the 65rd minute, scored with his first touch, assisted Miguel Gutierrez to put Girona 3-2 up and then wrapped up a famous win with a staggering, Robin van Persie-like volley.

“Three goals in ten minutes from Girona completely turns the game around,” explains ex-Tottenham and Wimbledon ace Gibson. “They played almost a 4-2-4 with the full-backs pushing on. So there was two players in midfield not being helped, they left four players up front, when Girona got the ball they got it forward quickly.

“They were totally outplayed in midfield but they stuck with it. Then they got crosses into the box and there was half-a-dozen people in there.

“I’m glad people saw what has made Girona spectacularly successful this season. That commitment, that bravery to attacking football and, basically, scoring more goals than the opposition.

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