KOCHI: Spanish top division side Girona FC kick-started its campaign with a landslide 6-0 victory over A-League club Melbourne City FC in the second match of the Toyota Yaris LaLiga World tournament here today.
The Spanish side made its intentions clear from the word go as it looked to keep possession.
The pair of Juan Lopez and Bernardo Zuniga made it tough for Melbourne City FC forwards, cancelling out all threats posed by the A-League side forwards.
Christian Portugues found some space in the right to deftly put it into the bottom right corner in 11th minute, helping his club score their first goal of the match.
Six minutes later, Portugues' deft touch beat the experienced Eugene Galekovic again as Girona doubled their lead.
Girona FC's pressing play put pressure on the Melbourne club as the 24th minute saw striker Antony Lozano tap in a missed cross by the goalkeeper to put Girona in a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Melbourne City FC had no answers to the constant forays of Girona in the 18-yard box.
The first real chance for Melbourne came in the 43rd minute of the match as forward Bruno Fornaroli was one on one with the Girona goalkeeper but failed to convert the opportunity as he hit the ball wide off the goal.
The second half was no different, as Girona continued with their high-pressing game.
It was business as usual as Girona scored their fourth goal in the 51st minute through a set piece.
Aleix Serrano curled in the ball as Juan Pedro Lopez placed in a thumping header, typical of a centre-back.
The one aspect of Girona's game that was truly spectacular was their ability to switch wings.
Girona FC winger Yhoan Many who was magical in the flanks through the evening scored in the 69th minute.
His run collided with the goalkeeper but he managed to put the ball past the Galekovic as the scoreboard read 5-0.
The lightning pace of Yhoan kept posing a constant threat to the Australian side as he hit the post on the 74th minute, making it five shots on target for him in the match.
To add to Melbourne City FC's woes, forward Pedro Porro headed the sixth goal of the match in added time.
Eusebio Sacritsan, manager Girona FC, said, "I think Aleix played brilliantly today, he is a core member of the squad and he will definitely feature a lot more in the upcoming season."
"We are really happy to play in this tournament and the support for our game today was fantastic to see. We shall have added pressure from the crowd tomorrow as we play against the home crowd."