The Spanish surprise gift from last season On the opening day of La Liga on Thursday, Girona battled back to secure a fun 1-1 draw against Real Betis. The Catalan minnows finished in third place, but Michel Sanchez had to start again before their first Champions League campaign since he lost important players like Savinho, Artem Dovbyk, and Aleix Garcia in the summer.

After just six minutes, Marc Bartra gave Betis the lead with a header from Nabil Fekir's corner, and they soon found themselves down. In a thrilling match at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium, goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga pushed over a shot from Aitor Ruibal after new Girona signing Abel Ruiz struck the post on the hour mark. Girona equalized with a combination of two replacements; Iker Almena set up Dutch rookie Gabriel Misehouy, who signed this summer from Ajax, for the finish.