2-0: A necessary and deserved victory
Espanyol ends their losing streak with a hard-fought win against Real Zaragoza
The team led by Vicente Moreno managed to score three important points in a match that, while difficult, was always controlled by Espanyol. The blue and whites had the best opportunities, but they had to draw upon their patience once again to end up defeating a wilful rival. Oscar Gil and Sergi Darder scored the goals that gave Espanyol its well-deserved victory.
Espanyol approached the game with conviction. The players led by Vicente Moreno soon realised that the opposition was going to give up the ball and rely on a counter. The blue and whites, who wanted to end the losing streak of the last three days, tried to take the leading role from the beginning against an organised team who, like them, was not at its best.
Pedrosa was the sharpest player in the first part of the game. The left-back starred in three almost consecutive arrivals: first, a long shot from outside the area that Cristian Alvarez stopped without problems. Then he put in two good centres that only just missed the strikers. Espanyol accounted for the time and made merits to achieve their first goal. RDT and WU Lei were very close in a double play, but they came up against an inspired Cristian Alvarez. RDT's opportunity was clearer, but the referee, in a strange decision, annulled it due to an earlier foul on Melendo. In general, the blue and white team was better than their opponent, but Espanyol were unable to express their dominance on the pitch.
It got harder for Espanyol in the second half, which did not flow so well. Fouls, changes and many interruptions prevented the game's flow. Real Zaragoza closed its ranks even more and weaved a defence that was difficult to overcome. However, with more or less success, but with conviction, the team kept trying despite feeling somewhat uncomfortable on the pitch. In the end, Vicente Moreno's men got their prize in a play that was a reflection of the game. Oscar Gil needed two shots to score his first goal for the blue and whites and get his team ahead on the scoreboard. With the goal against, the Aragonese team lost some consistency and a good effort by Melamed and Darder ended with the Majorcan's goal to clinch the game and add the three points.