Girona's performance has indeed declined. it wasn't as consistent and strong as it was at the start of the season. This match was the fifth defeat in the 29 matches that have been played.
Even though the point difference between Bilbao and Atletico Madrid is quite large, if Girona continues to perform like that, they may be moved from the top 4 of the standings.
if they want to keep it, they have to work hard now. finishing in the top 4 will be history for them with a ticket to the European Champions League.
I think it would be a very bad story if Girona went on a losing streak and they dropped out of the top 4. It was something many people didn't expect. Girona has the respect of all La Liga fans because as a mediocre team they are surprisingly able to be in first place for several weeks, and hopefully they can qualify for the Champions League next season. So the bad performance in the last few matches must be an evaluation material for coaches so that they can maintain their position for now. The 7 point gap from Atletico Madrid is quite far, but with 7 games remaining I'm afraid Girona will fall out of the top 4 if they continue playing like this.
This is nothing but bad luck for Girona. But it is likely to happen. Girona have had a great start to the season. They consistently won every match and held the top spot in the table for a long time. Such a performance from a team like Girona surprised us a lot. But we haven't seen better performances from Girona in recent matches. Girona have lost 3 of their last 5 matches.
Girona team is 7 points ahead of Atlético Madrid, which is in fifth place in the points table. If the performance of Girona's players is somewhat stable, it will be very easy for them to qualify for the top four of the table. Girona's opponents are not very strong in the upcoming matches. Girona will end the season in third place in the table if the performance is stable.
I think it's not about Girona's bad luck, but the fact that teams have already adapted to their style of play. You correctly noted that Girona started the season perfectly, gaining points in every match and up to the defeat 0:4 from Real also everything was not bad, but then Girona players got tired, the bench apparently does not allow Girona to play the whole season in La liga at the same high level, and the other teams are no longer afraid to play with Girona and realized that they can also win.
Third place will certainly be a huge success for a team like Girona, but I'm afraid next year Girona will not repeat such success as it was this season, especially if Girona sell their best players or do not buy a couple of top players for next season.
Girona's players lost confidence after the big defeat against Madrid. And the scenario changed quite rapidly after that. Girona lost their winning streak. And their performance is no longer stable. Even relatively small teams will be confident now against Girona and earn points.
However, Girona's main goal now is to qualify for the Champions League. This is the honor for them. I don't know if the Girona team has ever qualified for the Champions League in the past. Probably not. So now Girona will try to stay in the top four of the table.
I don't think Girona will be able to perform as well with this same squad next season. However, if Girona strengthen their squad and add to the squad of talented players, they are likely to stay at the top of the points table next season.