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Herrera goal downs Real Sociedad

Espanyol beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in a very fought match at the RCDE Stadium

RCD Espanyol moved up to twenty points in the LaLiga table after beating Real Sociedad on Matchday 15, with Yangel Herrera scoring the only goal of a highly demanding match. Los Pericos were organised without the ball, producing an almost seamless display in defence, before taking advantage of the clearest chance of the second half to snatch an important win.

One of the most in-form teams in the league came visiting at the RCDE Stadium, with Real Sociedad having begun the weekend second in the table and impressed in the first third of the campaign. Many had expected them to be feeling tiredness from European commitments in midweek, but Imanol Alguacil's team showed no signs of fatigue and came out with a possession-heavy strategy.

In terms of chances, however, Espanyol goalkeeper Diego López only had to intervene on a Le Normand shot -with the offside flag eventually raised in any case.

Espanyol's offensive weight was carried by Javi Puado. The youth team product had the two clearest opportunities to put his team ahead: On his first attempt he came up against inspired Remiro and, on the second, was denied one of the goals of the matchday by the post.

Vicente Moreno's side found it tough to string together offensive actions consistently, and depended more on individual moves, but were able to create danger. The game went into halftime 0-0.

La Real got off to a strong start after the restart, and once again took control of the play. Espanyol continued to lack joy in the final metres, and centred their efforts on being solid in defence. The visitors came close on two occasions: A shot by Januzaj that ended up crashing into the post and, shortly after, off a run and strike by Isak, which went in but was disallowed as referee Mateu Lahoz had made accidental contact with the ball.

After those two major scares for Espanyol, they reached the final stretch of the game still very much alive. That paid off when they found a late breakthrough in the 77th minute: Manu Morlanes received a ball in midfield, Raúl de Tomás picked out Herrera, who hooked a shot past goalkeeper Remiro to make it 1-0.

Wu Lei had a chance to kill the game off from a magnificent RDT move, but the Chinese forward was unable to control the ball.

RCD Espanyol claimed a valuable three points, and continued their impressive home record. Next up is the Copa del Rey, and an away game against Solares.