Unai Hernández delivered his first start in La Liga for Girona by supplying an assist and scoring a goal to secure a victory, providing the central spark manager Quique Álvarez had sought during a difficult stretch of interior play. The attacking midfielder, on loan from Al-Ittihad and registered with Girona’s reserve squad, unlocked the visiting defense to hand his club their second win.

Unai Hernández Unlocks the Girona Attack on First Start

Before his breakthrough performance, Hernández had logged just 69 total minutes across four substitute appearances for Girona—13 minutes against Albacete, 18 against Mallorca, 19 at Tenerife, and 19 against Andorra. Girona’s recent form featured just one defeat in nine matches, yet head coach Quique Álvarez acknowledged in his pre-match press conference that the team needed to sharpen its play through the central channels. Álvarez had previously tested various tactical profiles in that role, including Donny van de Beek, Abel Ruiz, and Oleksandr Pyshchur, as well as Iván Morante earlier in the campaign.

Operating between the lines with high passing accuracy, Hernández brought natural fluidity to the midfield connections Álvarez had demanded. In the first half, Hernández headed the ball down while falling to set up Vladyslav Vanat, who finished past the central defenders. Later in the match, Hernández collected a return pass from Vanat and slipped a shot past goalkeeper Coke to double the lead. Hernández played 59 minutes before being substituted, marking his first official start since February 7 and his first goal since April 10, 2025.

Standout Performances in the Victory Over the Visiting Defense

Vladyslav Vanat capitalized on the playmaking of Hernández to score three goals, surpassing his total of two goals scored across the rest of the league season. Mateu Morey added sustained pressure down the right flank, operating as a persistent attacking outlet for Girona throughout the fixture. The coordinated movement between Hernández, Vanat, and Morey is not supported by the sources, which only mention individual actions by Hernández, Vanat, and Morey.