Girona FC eased any lingering relegation fears with an impressive 3-0 victory over Athletic Club, whose winless run stretched to four matches in all competitions (D1, L3).

Michel’s side had been hovering on the fringes of the relegation battle in La Liga, while Athletic arrived still harbouring hopes of finishing in the European places despite an inconsistent campaign.

The visitors’ frustrations surfaced almost immediately when one of their own players struck against them after just four minutes. Hugo Rincon — on loan at Girona from Athletic — fired the hosts ahead with a superb angled finish following a sweeping move from left to right. The goal underlined Los Leones’ defensive struggles, as they failed to keep a clean sheet for a 13th consecutive league match.

The rest of the first half was played at a lively tempo, with Girona seeing a penalty appeal waved away when Daley Blind went down in the box after tangling with Andoni Gorosabel.

Athletic lacked cutting edge in attack, and Inaki Williams — making his 500th appearance for the club — headed harmlessly wide from Yuri Berchiche’s cross. Girona nearly doubled their advantage before the break, but Unai Simon produced a fine near-post save to keep out Vladyslav Vanat.

Athletic had a golden chance to equalise early in the second half when Gorka Guruzeta’s close-range effort was denied by Paulo Gazzaniga, who also kept out quick efforts from Aymeric Laporte and Mikel Jauregizar.

Ernesto Valverde’s side increased the pressure, but Gazzaniga again stood firm, tipping Guruzeta’s header over the bar to preserve Girona’s lead.

Relief swept through the Estadi Montilivi when Azzedine Ounahi doubled the advantage in the 78th minute. Claudio Echeverri played a key role with an acrobatic overhead kick that fell kindly for the Moroccan, who fired a first-time finish beyond Simon.

There was still time for Echeverri to crown the victory by scoring his first goal for the Catalan side in stoppage time after receiving a pass from Viktor Tsyhankov.

The result moves Girona nine points clear of the relegation zone and puts a top-half finish firmly within reach. Meanwhile, Athletic’s defeat leaves them stuck in mid-table and dealing a serious blow to their fading hopes of securing European qualification.