BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Girona fought back for a 2-1 victory at Rayo Vallecano to ensure it kept its surprising lead of the Spanish league on Saturday.

Rayo went ahead from Álvaro García’s goal in the sixth minute.

But Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk equalized three minutes before halftime when he was set up by countryman Viktor Tsyhankov for his team-high seventh goal of the season.

Brazilian winger Sávio put the visitors ahead in the 65th when he finished off a Dovbyk shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Girona has 11 wins in 13 rounds. It opened up a five-point gap over Real Madrid, which hosts Valencia later on Saturday.

Girona, which two seasons ago was in the second division, is partly controlled by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership even though it has one of the lowest payrolls in the league of just 51 million euros ($54 million).

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AP soccer: apnews.com/hub/soccer

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press