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• Michel delighted with Girona's return to form after injury boosts

  Michel puts Girona's rediscovered form down to the energy of the returning players from injury after they thrashed Espanyol in LaLiga on Saturday.

  Girona had endured a shaky start to the season but moved up to fifth in the standings on 21 points after a superb home victory featuring a Bojan Miovski brace and goals by Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci.

  Michel's side have now won their last three LaLiga matches, going on their best such run since between April and May 2024, the last time they recorded three victories on the bounce.

  "Today's victory, which is our third [in a row], it's due to the fact we got people back, because we've rested, because we've had a very good week of training and because that energy today was noticeable," Michel told a press conference.

  "The only thing I hope is that we continue to recover people, that we continue to have the necessary minutes for everyone and that, as we have very tough games coming up every three days, we need everyone to be at 100%; we'll see if we can achieve this without any problems."

  Yaser Asprilla and Krejci, back from injury, combined for the fourth goal, but it was the pairing of Miovski and Gil who made the night with lethal attacks for the second and third goals.

  "I am very happy for Miovski, he is a player who gives everything in training," Michel added. "I was worried because he wasn't scoring goals.

  "He always tries to do his best for the team, he needs time. I am happy for him.

  "Bryan is a very important player for everyone, his best version is yet to come. Right now, the process with him is what we all expect."

  Last season's surprise package Girona face Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Wednesday and the manager hopes they can repeat Saturday's performance in the European game.

  "This is the Girona I want, 100%. We started the game very well, that's the reality," Michel added.

  "The first half hour was spectacular, with and without the ball... We had a presence up front. The first half hour is what we want to do this season." 

• Dortmund got 'fully deserved victory' over Freiburg, says Sahin

  Nuri Sahin praised Borussia Dortmund for getting "a fully deserved victory" over nine-man Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

  Dortmund remained perfect on home soil this season as they cruised to a 4-0 win at Signal Iduna Park after Patrick Osterhage and Junior Adamu were both sent off for the visitors.

  Maximilian Bieier and Felix Nmecha scored in the first half before Julian Brandt and Jamie Gittens secured the points in the second during a dominant display as they limited Freiburg to just three shots on target at the other end.

  Dortmund have now won 11 home games in a row in all competitions. Since the Bundesliga was founded, they have won more consecutive home matches in a row only once, winning 14 in a row at home in 1994.

  Sahin has come under pressure recently for the Black and Yellow's less impressive away form, but he was delighted with the showing he saw from his side.

  "We started very well. We controlled the spaces. We allowed very little," Sahin said.

  "Overall, it was a mature performance from my boys. We scored great goals, showed good energy.

  "We kept them away from our goal throughout. It was a fully deserved victory and I, as a coach, am very satisfied."

  Dortmund were, however, without Serhou Guirassy, who is their top scorer in the Bundesliga with six goals, as he pulled out of the game due to a virus.

  Next up for Sahin's side is a trip to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, and the head coach is hopeful he will be available for that tie.

  "[Saturday] morning again, we got the bad news. Serhou tried everything to play today, but it did not work," Sahin added.

  "I hope it will be enough for Zagreb. He is a very important player for us." 

• Leverkusen were 'bullied' early on in Heidenheim win, says Alonso

  Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso was critical of his team's poor start in their 5-2 comeback victory over Heidenheim on Saturday.

  The current Bundesliga champions went two goals down inside the opening 21 minutes at the BayArena, before battling back to hammer their visitors.

  The teams went in level at half-time, while Patrik Schick completed a hat-trick in the second half to secure their second victory in seven league games.

  "The first 20 minutes were hard, hard on the pitch and hard mentally," Alonso told a press conference.

  "They bullied us in midfield. We could not find any good situations.

  "We then managed to find better solutions after the break, and we were more stable. That was the key to the better second half."

  Leverkusen are fourth in the Bundesliga, nine points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. They improved significantly after Heidenheim forward Marvin Pieringer was taken off injured in the 28th minute, having suffered due to his pace prior to that.

  "We had a bit of a doubt at the start, it was too hectic, we were too nervous," he added.

  "We could relax a bit during the break, and then we saw a much better second half, with more control and more stability. Mentally, we were much better."

  Aside from their poor start, Alonso singled out Schick in particular for praise after the game, with his perfect hat-trick having helped win the match for the hosts.

  Schick has now scored 3+ goals in a Bundesliga game on three occasions for Leverkusen - only Ulf Kirsten (seven) has done so more times for the club.

  "It was a perfect hat-trick. It is so important for a striker to get into this rhythm, to have that feeling and with us having a lot of matches during this time," said Alonso.