Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico shines in much-needed Girona win

Posted Sunday, February 11, 2018 by PA

Goalkeeper Sergio Rico was the Sevilla hero as the Copa del Rey finalists claimed a much-needed 1-0 LaLiga victory over Girona.

Sevilla’s winner came within seconds of the re-start when Joaquin Correa raced onto Clement Lenglet’s through ball and touched it past Girona goalkeeper Bono.

Bernardo Espinosa might just have saved the ball from crossing the line, but Pablo Sarabia followed it up to make sure in the absence of goal-line technology present.

While the identity of Sevilla’s goalscorer was unclear, there was no doubting the performance of the outstanding Rico.

He kept out Francisco Aday’s 41st-minute penalty and made a series of other stops as Sevilla bounced back from last weekend’s 5-1 LaLiga mauling at Eibar.

Girona might have had a second penalty after 55 minutes when Guido Pizarro appeared to move his arm towards Borja Garcia’s pass.

But those claims were ignored and Sevilla came close to doubling their lead when Bono hurtled off his line to deny Sarabia, with Jonas Ramalho completing the clearance.

Girona pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Rico made point-blank saves from Espinosa and Cristian Portu to secure his side’s second win in nine games.