La Liga Season Kicks Off: Girona Fall 0–3 to Rayo Vallecano in Opener

The 2025–26 La Liga season has began as Girona FC suffered a heavy 0–3 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano in the opening matchday.

Ukrainian international Viktor Tsygankov started for the hosts and played a key role in Girona’s limited attacking moments, providing an assist for Joel Roca — though the goal was ultimately disallowed due to an earlier foul.

Gazzaniga’s Nightmare Debut

The story of the night, however, was the catastrophic performance from Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga. The Argentine made two critical errors leading directly to goals, before being shown a red card in the second half for a reckless challenge outside the box.

Following the dismissal, 18-year-old Ukrainian goalkeeper Vladyslav Krapivtsov came off the bench to make his La Liga debut. Despite correctly guessing the direction of the resulting penalty, he was unable to stop the third goal from hitting the back of the net.

2025-26, Spain - La Liga

Girona - Rayo Vallecano 1:3 (0:3)
Goals: De Frutos, 18 (0:1); Álvaro García, 20 (0:2); Palazón, 45 (penalty) (0:3); Roca, 57 (1:3)

Girona: Gazzaniga (till 43); Martinez Ar. (Lumbreras, 58); Blind (Vitor Reis, 58); López Da.; Tsygankov; Krejčí L. II.; Herrera Ya. (Lemar, 70); Solis Jhon; Asprilla (Portu, 46); Roca; Miovski (Krapyvtsov, 45)
Bench: Juan Carlos; Frances; Martín I.; Ba Papa
Red cards: Gazzaniga 43'

Rayo Vallecano: Batalla; Chavarría; Díaz Р. (Gumbau, 70); Luiz Felipe (Fernandez P., 46); Álvaro García (Espino, 85); Lejeune; Ratiu; Ciss P.; López U. (Valentín Ó., 81); Palazón; De Frutos (Nteka, 81)
Bench: Cárdenas; Balliu; Pérez Fr.; Trejo; Camello
Yellow Cards: Luiz Felipe 15