Girona thump Kerala Blasters 5-0 to win LaLiga World tournament

Kochi, July 28: La Liga side Girona FC continued from where they left on Friday putting up yet another clinical performance to lift the Toyota Yaris La Liga World trophy, beating Kerala Blasters FC 5-0 in the final match at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium here on Saturday (July 28).

Blasters looked a much-improved side, starting the final fixture with a 4-4-2 formation, tightening their defence with their wingers sitting deep. On the other hand, Girona's strategy was no different from the first game as they looked to attack right from the word go.

Congratulations @GironaFC on winning the @TYLLW2018!#KeralaBlasters #Congratulations #GironaFC #ToyotaYarisLaligaWorld pic.twitter.com/W4VUiUm13u

— Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) July 28, 2018

The home side managed to hold fort till the half hour mark, making all the necessary interceptions and keeping Girona forwards at bay. The Spanish side kept pressing with more possession through the first half, but the defensive formation worked well for David James' side.

With just three minutes before half time, a rare defensive lapse by the Blasters backline led to Eric Montes scoring the first goal of the match against the run of play. The Spanish right back made a run down the right to find the back of the net from a very tight angle. The first half ended with 1-0 in favour of Girona FC.

The second half of the game saw home team start with three men at the back with Mohammad Rakip and Prasanth K operating as wing-backs.

Girona FC's midfield kept improving as they played some spectacular one touch football for creating chances. The constant attacking football finally paid off for the LaLiga side as a miscommunication between the Blasters goalkeeper Naveen Kumar and defense saw Girona winger Pedro Porro easily push one into the open net to make it 2-0 in the 53rd minute.

Four minutes later, Girona skipper Alex Granell scored the 3rd goal of the match as Yhoan Many made a superb run down the left to go past Prasanth and cut one in to his unmarked skipper who made no mistake in putting the ball behind the Kerala goalkeeper.

The Kerala defence that had a firm command on the game in the first half, was nowhere close to their best in the second. The Blasters kept losing possession in the midfield that led to Girona making the counter runs and unsettling the Kerala defence at regular intervals of the second half.

Though in the 61st minute an impressive free-kick from Blasters' Ghanaian import Courage Pekuson almost gave Kerala their first goal if not for the briliiant save from Girona's goalkeeper.

It was business as usual then as Aday Benitez's left footer takes Blasters' defenders deflection to find the back of the net in the 73rd minute. Kerala goalkeeper could hardly do anything with the slight deflection.

To add to the home team's woes, Blasters conceded a penalty in the added time. Aleix Garcia smartly placed the ball into the bottom right corner as the match ended with a score line of 5-0 in favour of the eventual champions.

The tournament surely helped all the three participating sides to find their right combinations and work on their plans as the upcoming season beckons them. The Man of the match was awarded to Pedro Porro for his brilliant gameplay in the wings, whereas the Man of the Tournament was awarded to Girona captain Alex Granell who stood like a rock for his team at the back, and managed to keep two clean sheets in two matches.

"I am extremely proud of my team for the way they played today, playing against a team that features in the top 3 leagues of the world is in itself a big feat. We managed to keep things pretty tight in the first half, the finally score line definitely doesn't suggest the same but I think we looked a much improved side today from the first match. There are a lot of positives that we take from this tournament, we have a long preseason coming up ahead of us and with some fantastic young players in the squad I think we will be a force to reckon with once the ISL season begins" said David James, head coach Kerala Blasters FC.

"I am happy with the way we have kick started our pre-season, we have focused on the technical aspects of the game and have been training very hard from the past 3weeks. This tournament was a learning experience for us as we got to play in a completely different weather from what we usually play, the crowd was fantastic and I would like to congratulate all the people who turned out for our matches. Overall it was a gratifying experience to be in India and play such a fantastic tournament. We have some tough matches coming up in our pre-season, we take on Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspurs in August and that should be a good match. I can confidently say we will be the team to watch out for once the season begins" signed off Girona manager Eusebio Sacritsan.

Source: Press release