Girona head coach Michel was left to rue a lack of attacking options but urged his side to cope with injury absences after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad.

Last season's surprise package Girona have struggled to find form this campaign, slipping to 13th in the LaLiga standings after their fourth defeat in 10 games.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time as Girona put in another disappointing performance at home.

Michel lamented his side's depleted attack following injuries to forwards Bryan Gil, Yaser Asprilla and Abel Ruiz.

"We have to keep working, the offensive potential of the team without injured players... you lack depth, you always lose somewhere, we don't have any player on the pitch who can play as a winger," the Spanish manager told reporters.

"We need to improve in our final pass, in our one-on-one determination, to get into the box more. These things are the most difficult thing in football, scoring goals.

"Last year we had a lot of goals, this year it's harder for us."

Fans at Girona's Montilivi stadium expressed their frustration after another underwhelming performance, but Michel backed his players in the face of criticism.

"Fans have to understand the process in which the players are. There is no player, because I would not allow it, that does not give his maximum performance in terms of attitude, mentality, illusion, motivation, energy," he said.

"If they say that we play good or not, I respect that, but we try to play good football and mistakes are part of the game.

"It's not easy, we faced a team with 14 internationals and for the first half hour we tried to go for them... you can't say to any Girona player that they don't give their all for this shirt."

Girona will look to bounce back when they Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Girona boss Michel says he is confident his side have what it takes to be contenders for the LaLiga, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles after a season in which they lit up Spanish soccer as a surprise package.

Backed by the wealth of their Abu Dhabi owners and only four years after being promoted to Spain's first division, Girona went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the title race last season, beating Catalonia rivals Barcelona twice before finishing third and qualifying for European football for the first time.

"We have a balanced squad, perfect to go out there and compete in all competitions," Michel told a press conference ahead of his side's LaLiga clash at Sevilla on Sunday.

"We are the team that recovered the most balls in the opposition's half in the first three matches of the season, a step up from last year, when we were sixth from bottom.

"I really don't care about the system we use, I care about our performance on the pitch, the way of doing things. We want numerical superiority with the ball and to regain it as quickly as possible."

Michel praised the club's effort to revamp the squad with new signings in the close season, having lost several of his key players from last year.

Although winger Savinho, striker Artem Dovbyk and versatile midfielder Aleix Garcia have all gone, Michel said he believed the arrivals of the likes of Abel Ruiz, Donny van de Beek, Bryan Gil and Arnaut Danjuma would help his side step up.

Girona will face the likes of Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and AC Milan in the Champions League this season.

"Everyone is happy at the club because we have taken a step forward. Last year we had players on loan and only Danjuma, Bryan (Gil) and Oriol (Romeu) have come in this situation," Michel said.

"I think we have a good squad for the style of play we want to show, and I think we are versatile enough to have a good year."

Girona are seventh in the LaLiga standings on four points in three games, five behind leaders Barcelona. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Girona earned their first win of the 2024-25 LaLiga campaign in emphatic fashion, beating Osasuna 4-0 at the Estadi Montilivi on Thursday. 

The Blanquivermells had taken one point from their first two league fixtures, but goals from Bryan Gil, Viktor Tsygankov, Abel Ruiz and Cristhian Stuani ensured a comfortable win for Michel's side.

Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Gil opened the scoring in the 34th minute, turning home Tsyhankov's delivery with an acrobatic finish beyond Sergio Herrera.

Tsyhankov increased their advantage eight minutes after the break, neatly turning and finishing into the bottom corner after being picked out by Bojan Miovski inside the area.

The victory was confirmed three minutes later when Ruiz rounded off a fine move with a thunderous finish at Herrera's near post from outside the box. 

Stuani added further gloss to an impressive display in added time, tapping home after being found by new signing Donny van de Beek. 

The result moves Girona up to seventh in the early-season standings ahead of travelling to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium to face Sevilla on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Osasuna's Girona hoodoo continues

Girona have now lost just one of their five LaLiga matches against Osasuna (W3 D1), winning the last three and scoring in all of them, with an average of two goals per game (11 overall).

The Blanquivermells also continued their record of having never lost in their first home game of a league campaign (P5 W3 D2).