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1-4: On the fast track

Espanyol played a superb match and dominated Ponferradina from the start to the end

Vicente Moreno stated that he didn’t question the demand that his players put on themselves, and they didn’t disappoint him with an incredible start to the match. Eleven seconds (maybe a few less, but it would take a photo finish in cycling to confirm it) and Pedrosa’s cross into the box set up Dimata’s finish to put the white and blues one up. This goal means the Belgian forward hasn’t only scored the fastest goal in Espanyol’s official match history, but also goal number 4,000 for the white and blues in the league, by adding those scored in the first and second division together. If that weren’t enough, Valcarce brought Puado down in the box during the 7^th minute, which let the Catalonian forward increase the lead. This led to the white and blues settling into the match very comfortably as they kept creating scoring opportunities like Óscar Gil’s shot, Cabrera's header or another opportunity that Dimata had, but was denied by the keeper. Vargas and Darder had another couple of opportunities before half-time. As for the home team, their only attempt was Ríos Reina's shot from a free-kick that rattled Oier’s crossbar.

Ponferradina were determined not to repeat the first 45 minutes in the second half, and pulled out all the stops. Oier had to pull off a great save to stop another free-kick effort by Ríos Reina, but was then unable to stop a close-range shot by Óscar Sielva (a former white and blue player who is having a fantastic season with Ponferradina), which ended up being deflected by Darder past the goal line. The own goal gave the home side a lift, but then a superb counter-attack three minutes later involving Puado and Vargas produced Dimata’s second goal to dash the hopes of the home team. The match entered into a phase of confusion and frantic pace for the home side, and Espanyol refrained from taking part in Ponferradina's physical game. At the end of the match, another collective attacking move among the white and blues ended up with Dimata's square pass in the box to Nico Melamed who found the back of the net in stoppage time to round off a brilliant match from start to finish.