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1-0: Decisive genius

RDT appears at just the right moment to score and give the team victory

Espanyol again saw itself in a disputed, gridlocked and competitive match against an Alcorcón that played their options very well, but did not have the genius of RDT, author of the winning goal. The Madrid native decided the game for the blue and white side at the most difficult moment of the clash and did so displaying his enormous class with a fantastical play.

Alcorcón surfaced in the RCDE Stadium ready to deactivate the blue and white game. With a very defined system and with very clear ideas, the visiting team wove a spider web that made the Espanyol footballers very uncomfortable. It is true that possession was absolutely managed by Vicente Moreno's men, but the reality is that they lacked verticality and speed to overcome the orderly visiting defensive lines. A complicated context for Espanyol that, of course, they are going to have to get used to this season.

With the rival basically limited to defending themselves, Espanyol had many problems reaching the visiting goal. In fact, the first clear chance of the game was for Juanma in a header that narrowly missed. Without a brilliant game, the escape route was strategy. RDT was close to scoring after skimming off the head of Cabrera and then it was Wu Lei, who failed to connect a good center from Madrid's forward. The reality is that the locals slowly improved as the minutes passed and managed to destabilize the defensive fabric of Mere Hermoso. Dídac tried with a cross shot with the left, but it was RDT who made Dani Jiménez shine with a spectacular save. Before the break there was also room for controversy due to a push to RDT in the area that was not sanctioned.

Vicente Moreno did not hesitate to use his bench and Melamed entered for Wu Lei at the half. The home-grown player, recently re-signed, connected more with his teammates and put the other side in greater trouble, although Espanyol could still not come up with the formula to create real danger. To be honest, the clearest option was for former blue and white, Marc Gual. Luckily, again Diego López responded with a sublime intervention. Vicente Moreno's crew were a bit stuck, so the coach decided to shake up the attack a bit with two debutants: Vadillo and Campuzano. Coinciding with their entry came the RDT goal. The striker received a lobbed cross from Dídac and after dodging two rivals and the goalkeeper with astonishing calm, he scored at will. Pure fantasy. Espanyol clung to victory although Darder, who played very well throughout the game, was able to avoid the final suffering with a shot from the front. Three more points.