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• Michel craving bolder approach to halt Girona losing streak

  Girona head coach Michel has urged his team to rediscover their attacking spark by adopting a bolder approach in the final third against Athletic Bilbao this Sunday. 

  Girona return to LaLiga action at the Estadi Montilivi following their 3-2 Champions League defeat to Feyenoord in midweek, leaving them winless in the competition.

  The Blanquivermells have also struggled in the league, failing to win any of their last four matches (D2 L2), while only scoring two goals during that run. 

  Michel's side currently sit 13th in the standings with nine points from their first eight games, while Bilbao are up in sixth on 14 points. 

  Girona have lost only one of their last four against this weekend's opponents in LaLiga (W2 D1), with Michel desperate to see his side return to winning ways. 

  "The most important thing is the league, which is our vitality, it is where we have to perform to be able to make the club grow," Michel said. 

  "We need a victory with home fans so that the good feelings can turn into points."

  But the Girona head coach did take on some of the blame for his side's transition to playing Champions League football this term. 

  After tomorrow's fixture, the Blanquivermells will have played six games in 18 days, and Michel was able to pinpoint the differences from last season to this. 

  "I have to be the one who adapts to the player's characteristics because otherwise they won't be comfortable on the pitch," Michel said. 

  "In my mind it is clear that my way of playing is good for any player, but they have to understand that they have to take a step in our game. Any player can do that.

  "I'm not asking them to dribble past three defenders and score, but I do ask that they play forward and upward, that they should always look at their opponents' faces (bravely).

  "We have a team that can perform very well and do things very well. We must not enter into negative dynamics."

• Kovacic dedicates Man City double to future child

  Two-goal hero Mateo Kovacic dedicated his double to his future child following Manchester City's 3-2 victory over Fulham.

  Kovacic scored either side of half-time to complete the turnaround, as Pep Guardiola's side came from behind to maintain the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool, who they trail by a single point.

  The Croatian's deflected strike in the 32nd minute levelled the contest, before he swept City in front from 20 yards within two minutes of the restart.

  That took Kovacic's goal tally for the season to three - already his best return in a single Premier League campaign - and his strikes had added significance on a personal level.

  "It means a lot because my wife is pregnant, so it was great to get some goals for the little one," he said. "It is never easy to play in the Premier League and, today, we showed great character. 

  "We dominated in the beginning and couldn't score, conceded the goal and then came back quickly. In the end, we won it. It was a tough game against an opponent in good form, so for us, it is good to continue winning.

  "It is always important to get the win. It doesn't matter who scores; the most important thing is getting three points. Now, we hope to continue like this."

  Kovacic anchored City's midfield in the absence of Rodri, who suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal a fortnight ago.

  "I am playing there in the middle at the moment and, of course, we need to cover for Rodri. We miss him a lot," the 30-year-old added.

  "I think any team would miss him, the player that he is, and we wish him a speedy recovery and hope he comes back in as good a shape as possible. 

  "For now, we have to adapt and, for sure, the manager has a lot of options, so we can rotate."

• Union Berlin 2-1 Borussia Dortmund: BVB's away struggles continue

  Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 2-1 loss at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

  In a match that took place just four days after BVB’s 7-1 demolition of Celtic in the Champions League for their biggest European win, their familiar domestic away woes returned in the German capital.

  Union's Kevin Vogt ended a 10-year Bundesliga goal drought after converting a 26th-minute penalty. 

  Vogt's previous goal was scored on October 18, 2014, making it a record 275 Bundesliga matches between goals for an outfield player.

  Dortmund showed none of the aggression they produced in the win over Celtic and before half-time they conceded another with Yorbe Vertessen's low strike from the edge of the box.

  Julian Ryerson pulled a goal back for the visitors just past the hour, but they could not find an equaliser despite applying some late pressure.

  The loss meant Dortmund dropped to seventh place in the standings on 10 points, with Union now one place and one point above them.

  Data Debrief: Away woes for BVB

  Dortmund had lost 5-1 to Stuttgart in their previous away game on September 22 and, dating back to the end of last season, have now collected just one point from their last five Bundesliga road matches.

  They have failed to score more than once in any of those games.

  Dortmund dominated the possession (67.1%) here but only converted that control of the ball into eight shots, four of which were on target, resulting in a poor accumulated expected goals (xG) total of just 0.66.

  One of the few BVB positives was the performance of Julian Brandt, who created a game-high four chances and got the assist for Ryerson’s goal.

  Midfielder Brandt has now created a goal in three straight games across all competitions and has four assists overall for Dortmund this season.