Girona's Cristhian Stuani scored a late goal to all but secure their place in LaLiga for next season, as they dished out a 1-0 defeat to Real Valladolid, who have now lost 10 games in a row.

Valladolid, looking to restore a modicum of pride in a miserable season in which they will finish bottom of the table, could have broken the deadlock when Raul Moro haplessly fired wide of the far post after bursting through on goal.

At the other end, Oriol Romeu forced a smart save out of Karl Hein, before his counterpart Paulo Gazzaniga tipped a vicious drive from Chuki over the bar.

It was a lively start, and Girona soon started to grab control, with Viktor Tsyhankov twice denied by Hein, who firstly sprang to his right to expertly palm a whipped shot around the post, before making an even better stop when getting down to his left to get a fingertip on a low, arrowed strike that was heading for the bottom corner.

The final chance of the half fell to Yaser Asprilla, but he failed to hit the target with a skewed effort from inside the box that flew wide.

The Colombian had another go after the break, this time hitting the target, only for the goalkeeper to dash off his line and toe to safety. Those missed chances breathed confidence into Valladolid, and only a stunning Gazzaniga stop kept Anuar Tuhami at bay, with his thunderous shot diverted onto the bar.

Alvaro Rubio’s side then thought they had a penalty for handball against Alejandro Frances, but that decision was correctly overruled following VAR intervention, due to the defender having his arms tucked into his chest.

As proceedings wore on, openings dried up, with both teams now struggling with their final ball. Girona, attempting to end a seven-match winless run on the road in the league, turned to their all-time leading scorer Stuani, and he duly delivered, slotting into an empty net from David Lopez’s cross after some penalty area pinball.

A comeback from Valladolid, whose losing streak is the joint-worst by a team in LaLiga since Las Palmas’ 11 successive defeats in 1960, was always unlikely.

Gazzaniga did awkwardly fumble Mario Martin’s diving header around the post though, before Anuar haplessly nodded high and wide deep into added time.

That ensured Girona move seven points clear of the drop zone, while also keeping only a second clean sheet since mid-January.