Girona boss Michel was upset after a red card was issued to captain Arnau Martinez. His club also failing by a 4-0 scoreline to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday also didn’t help matters.
Ryan Flamingo and Malik Tillman scored for PSV before Martinez got a second booking 10 minutes after booking. This left Girona defenceless.
The home team scored two more goals thanks to Johan Bakayoko and Ladislav Krejci’s own goal.
“The first half of both teams was very good in terms of the pace of play, looking for the opponent’s goal,” Michel told reporters after the match.
“The expulsion was decisive. From there, PSV had chances and deserved to win. In this competition, the small details make a difference.”
Daley Blind, a former player at Ajax, agreed that Girona were second best but reiterated the coach’s opinion that the red card was decisive.
“The first chance was for us, but we conceded a goal from a throw-in, which cannot happen,” Blind said.
“After that, we tried to play. It was an open game. We had a lot of movement when we had possession, but overall PSV had the upper hand.
“We missed a few players through injury. It’s a difficult situation. But I don’t want to give that as an excuse. We need to do it with the players we have.
“We fought hard. We came out of the dressing room with good spirit. But after the red card, the game was over.”
