19-year-old defender playing as stand-in goalkeeper helps knock Girona out of Copa del Rey | OneFootball

The second round of the 2024-25 Copa del Rey is currently ongoing this midweek, and already, three La Liga clubs have been knocked out of the competition in the last two days. Espanyol were dumped out on Tuesday, with Villarreal and Girona following suit 24 hours later.

The story of Girona’s exit is perhaps the most remarkable. Just before half time in extra time, opponents Logrones were forced to put an outfield player in goals after goalkeeper Enrique Royo was forced off after suffering a suspected concussion.

19-year-old defender Pol Arnau was selected to be in between the sticks, and remarkably, he avoided conceding during the remainder of extra time. To make matters even better, he saved Abel Ruiz’s effort during the penalty shoot-out as Logrones went on to defeat Girona 4-3.

It would have been a very emotional moment for Arnau, whose father Francesc – who died three years ago – was a goalkeeper for the likes of Barcelona and Malaga. Like father, like son.