Girona reclaimed top spot in La Liga after Portu’s first-half strike was enough to lift them to 1-0 win over struggling Celta Vigo.

The visitors were looking to bounce back from their disappointing Copa Del Rey quarter-final loss to 10-man Mallorca and quickly found themselves on the front foot at Estadio de Balaidos.

While Celta keeper Vicente Guaita had produced some fine saves to prevent his side from falling behind early, there was little he could do when Portu fired home in the 20th minute.

The hosts looked brighter as the break approached, but created little after half-time as their side slumped to another worrying defeat in their relegation battle.

Girona had a chance to take an early lead when Yangel Herrera fired into the side-netting from the edge of the area seconds before the 10-minute mark.

Artem Dovbyk tried next, forcing Celta keeper Guaita to tip over when his nodded effort from Savio’s cross looked destined to dip under the crossbar, and the former Palace stopper was almost immediately called back into action, denying the hosts with a fine save from a corner.

The visitors capitalised on their hosts’ defensive lapses, Renato Tapia struggling to track as Girona carved space deep inside his side’s half and Unai Nunez found himself outsmarted by Miguel Gutierrez, who slipped the ball to Portu.

The winger obliged, patiently edging forward before firing low past Guaita from just outside the six-yard box, and might have doubled the lead had Dovbyk’s cross soon after not narrowly evaded his slide at the far post.

Viktor Tsygankov fired over before Celta finally enjoyed a brief attacking spell, but were denied an equaliser when Paulo Gazzaniga picked a free-kick out of the air, then tipped Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header over the crossbar to preserve the lead.

Celta were settling into the contest, however, and had a golden opportunity when Aleix Garcia lost the ball inside his own half, but Anastasios Douvikas’ resultant effort was disappointingly soft and made easy work for Gazzaniga.

There were few chances for either opponent as the second half got under way and Girona wasted a  promising drive into the area, pinging the ball between players before losing control, while the home support grew restless with the struggling outfit.

Miguel Rodriguez, one of four second-half substitutions for Rafael Benitez, provided a spark when he drove inside the 18-yard box and did well to control the ball under pressure, but was dispossessed before he could attempt a shot.

Guaita saved Garcia’s deflected effort to keep his side in the contest, and while Oscar Mingueza had a half-chance for the hosts it was duly denied by Daley Blind’s block before Gazzaniga was called into a stoppage-time save to seal the victory.