21-year-old Mika Biereth helped his team, SK Sturm Graz, record their first UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage win this season after scoring the only goal in the match against Girona at the Worthersee Stadion.
The team had faced many challenges in this season of the Champions League, one of which was their reliance on an own goal against Stade Brestois, but the team ended up finding the net.
Biereth is currently in form in the domestic Austrian Bundesliga, scoring a total of 10 goals. He neared scoring a goal when Girona’s goalkeeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, denied his effort through a good save.
Bojan Miovski, a Girona player, missed a good opportunity while Sturm’s William Boving and Dimitri Lavalee’s efforts were also denied before the end of the first half.
Girona’s hopes were dashed when Juanpe’s goal was ruled offside early in the second half. Shortly after, Biereth capitalized on a rebound from Seedy Jatta’s shot, scoring the decisive goal.
Girona pressed for an equalizer, but Alejandro Frances and Cristhian Stuani failed to convert. Biereth converted a rebound through a shot from Seedy Jatta into a goal.
This is the first time that SK Sturm Graz will ever win against any Spanish team in the UEFA Champions League, pushing them to try for points shy of Champions League playoff spots.
While Girona also recorded being the first Spanish side to lose all their first three opening matches in the UCL away games.
