Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga makes THREE PENALTY SAVES in one game against Athletic Club

Paulo Gazzaniga's heroic display in goal helped Girona to a thrilling 2-1 win against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga makes THREE PENALTY SAVES in one game against Athletic Club

Paulo Gazzaniga (Image courtesy: X)

It was a day of goal-keeping heroics across the globe as Girona custodian Paulo Gazzaniga made three crucial penalty saves in a single La Liga game to deny Athletic Club an emphatic win. It was absolute chaos at Montilivi as Girona was locked in a fierce battle with Athletic Club.

Both the teams witnessed first-hand madness with three penalties, three goals scored in the game, and a red card as well. It was a cagey start to the game where both the teams failed to threaten each other’s defences.

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However, a VAR intervention in the 28th minute saw Athletic Club awarded a penalty. Alejandro Berenguer Remiro stepped up for the spot-kick and he shot it straight against Gazzaniga.

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The second penalty came in the 54th minute, with Inaki Williams stepping up for the spot kick this time. However, he also could only slam it straight at Gazzaniga. But reviews showed that the goalkeeper was off the line early and the penalty had to be retaken.

This time, Bilbao went for a change of personnel and decided to turn towards former Manchester United player Ander Herrera. The Spnaird could also only not find a way past the Argentine goal-keeper.

The thrills and drama of the match were far from over. The 97th minute of the game saw a penalty being awarded to Girona. Cristhian Stuani made no mistake in putting the ball in the back of the net to give his team the 2-1 win.

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A glance at Girona’s incredible win against Athletic Bilbao

It was a crazy outing for Girona as they had their fair share of early challenges. Yasper Asprilla found the back of the net to open the scoring for Girona in the 39th minute. Two minutes later, Oihan Sancet equalized the proceedings for Athletic Bilbao.

Paulo Gazzaniga
Girona FC celebrations

However, things went haywire when Sancet had to be taken off due to an injury, which forced Ander Herrera to take the last spot-kick for Bilbao. The Spaniard then failed to get the ball past Paulo Gazzaniga.

This is not the first time in history that a hat trick of penalty saves was made. Deniz Mehmet, Cammy Bell, and Jean-Francois Gillet have all notably pulled off the heroic feat before.