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4-0: Triumphant return
After 12 years, the RCD Espanyol of Barcelona returned to compete in Europe. The draw brought a confrontation against Stjarnan, an Icelandic team very generous in the effort and that in the first time managed to stop the white-blue. However, everything changed after the break and Chuky Ferreyra and Borja Iglesias were responsible for bringing down his opponent.
It soon became clear what kind of match the spectators were going to watch. The Stjarnan yielded the ball to the five seconds of serve and in the first half only threaded three passes in a row on two occasions being generous. The Icelanders appeared at the RCDE Stadium with a clear plan: defend, defend and defend. Rúnar Páll Sigmundsson based his game on two lines of containment and a forward who defended rather than attacked. The David Gallego had to find spaces where there were none, generate advantages and, above all, have a lot, a lot of patience because their opponent was not going to allow any license.
However, the match changed radically after the break. RCD Espanyol were a real hurricane. Ferreyra opened the scoring after a precise pass from Pedrosa and soon extended the lead with another goal from Javi Lopez's cross and Borja Iglesias' assist. The Blanquiazules were a steamroller and Borja Iglesias scored with an unstoppable shot. If there was any doubt, the Panda scored the second after a great assistance of his partner Chuky Ferreyra. Excellent result for Espanyol.