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0-1: Defeat against Leganés

The smallest possible margin brings defeat for Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium

CD Leganés surprised Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium, winning thanks to a goal by Jonathan Silva after the break. The Blue and Whites set out in good form but their opponents were a tight unit which left them with very few options throughout the match.

After their painful defeat in San Sebastián, Espanyol had set out aiming to win the full three points against Leganés to help them in their difficult battle against relegation. Satisfied with his players' attitude in the previous games, Rufete again made changes to the starting eleven. The Blue and Whites' coach returned to the 4-4-2 line-up with RDT and Wu Lei in attack against Javier Aguirre's team who had a back row of five defenders. However, there was more fear than football. Nerves, inaccuracies, doubts.

The Blue and Whites were determined to control the game and dominated possession for much of the first half. However, the locals hardly ever got inside Cuéllar's box and posed little danger to the visitors. The visiting goalkeeper only had to save one forced shot by Bernardo which came after some strategic play. However, Leganés didn't play with very much passion or intensity either. The match didn't provide much of a spectacle despite the two contenders' current position in the rankings.

The second half was messy from the off. Jonathan Silva slipped through on the left wing with no opposition and hammered past Diego López to score the first goal. Espanyol tried to react quickly with a free kick from RDT that Cuéllar just managed to clear. Rufete needed to shake things up and decided to put Darder in midfield with Marc Roca and take David López off to give Cabrera the left wing. RDT had an opportunity to bring Espanyol level, but Cuadra Fernández said the goal was clearly offside. To top it off, Calleri was sent off in the final minutes and RDT never managed to get a clear opportunity in the box before the final whistle blew.