Football

Girona capped off their historic La Liga campaign with a resounding 7-0 victory over relegated Granada on Friday, securing third place and a spot in the Champions League for the first time.Artem Dovbyk, on loan from Dnipro-1, stole the show with a hat-trick, reclaiming the lead in the league's goalscoring charts. The Ukrainian striker's treble propelled him to 24 goals for the season, one ahead of Villarreal's Alexander Sorloth.Michel's side, already assured of a top-three finish, dominated the match from the outset. Eric Garcia, on loan from Barcelona, opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, followed by goals from Viktor Tsygankov and Dovbyk's first-half penalty.Tsygankov extended Girona's lead nine minutes into the second half, before Dovbyk and Cristhian Stuani added to Granada's misery. Manchester United loanee Facundo Pellistri was sent off for two yellow cards, compounding Granada's woes.Dovbyk sealed his hat-trick with a second penalty in the 90th minute, securing his place as La Liga's top scorer. Girona's victory was a fitting end to a remarkable season, which saw them qualify for Europe's elite club competition for the first time in their history.

Girona's aspirations of securing the second spot behind La Liga champions Real Madrid suffered a setback on Friday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Alaves. The match witnessed a dramatic late equalizer from Alaves' Jon Guridi in the ninth minute of added time.The match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria began with a quick start for Girona, with Eric Garcia scoring in just the fourth minute. However, Alaves responded swiftly, with Guridi equalizing eight minutes later. Artem Dovbyk, the league's leading goalscorer with 20 goals, assisted Yangel Herrera for what seemed to be the winning goal just before halftime.As the game entered its final stages, Alaves refused to give up. In the dying moments of added time, Guridi struck again, securing a share of the spoils for the home team. The result leaves Girona with 75 points, 12 behind Real Madrid and just two points ahead of Barcelona.Barcelona, who have a game in hand, can move into second place if they defeat Real Sociedad on Monday. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, fresh from their Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich, will face relegation-threatened Granada on Saturday.Granada, currently second from bottom, could face relegation before the match against Real Madrid if Real Mallorca, who are 17th, defeat Las Palmas earlier in the day.