Stuani's 90th-minute header rescues Girona at Vallecas and confirms Real Oviedo's La Liga relegation
Cristhian Stuani stepped off the Vallecas bench in the 85th minute on Monday night and changed the shape of three different teams' seasons. The veteran Uruguayan rose at the back post to head in a 90th-minute equaliser, cancelling Alemão's 86th-minute opener and salvaging a 1-1 draw for Girona. The point ended Rayo Vallecano's push into the Conference League places and, with one round of La Liga left, mathematically condemned Real Oviedo to relegation.
For an hour and a half this was a tense midtable La Liga match playing out under low-stakes pretences. The closing five minutes flipped it into a result that shifted both the top and bottom of the table.
Alemão breaks through with four minutes left
Rayo had the ball for most of the night and looked the more likely side to find a winner, especially as Girona settled deeper after the hour. Iñigo Pérez's plan was patience down both flanks and crosses into the box, and it eventually paid off in the 86th minute. Unai López slid a pass through the left channel, the move was finished off down that side, and Alemão buried a left-footed shot at the far post.
The Vallecas crowd came to the ground knowing a win would lift their side past Real Sociedad in the table, and they started counting down. The leapfrog Iñigo Pérez's group had been chasing for weeks was four minutes away.
Stuani arrives at the right moment
Girona's response came from the playbook every relegation-fighter dreams about. With five minutes to play, Míchel had thrown Stuani on for the final push. In the 90th, Viktor Tsygankov picked up the ball wide on the right, swung in a deep cross to the back post, and Stuani read its flight better than anyone in red. The 39-year-old Uruguayan guided a downward header past Augusto Batalla and the Catalans had their point.
The reaction told you what it meant. Stuani slid on his knees in front of the away section. Míchel pumped both fists. For Girona, a comfortable points cushion mattered even with safety long since secured.
The points fall
The draw left Rayo one point short of Real Sociedad with a single matchday left. They keep a faint claim on a UEFA Conference League playoff spot, but the leapfrog they spent 86 minutes engineering was wiped out in the 90th.
For Real Oviedo, who could not afford the Girona equaliser, the maths went the other way. With Girona's points now safely beyond Oviedo's reach in the remaining round, the Asturians had their relegation from La Liga confirmed on a night the result was settled hundreds of miles away.
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