Espanyol lives in misfortune. Once again he was left in the middle. It was not the team you want and should. Even so, he had the victory in his hand against Elche, the bottom of the League, due to a matter of success, Puado and Braithwaite traced Pere Milla's goal, but he let it escape again (2-2). The reality is that the tie harbors a seriousness that no result had had until now. Due to the condition of the rival, due to their own need, due to the difficulties to be superior in a key match of the calendar and, above all, due to the lack of confidence shown by Diego Martínez in his team. With the match ahead and a rival knocked out, his changes introduced nervousness and invited Elche to be more courageous. His motivational messages permeate the locker room, but they do not serve at the moment to get out of the football tunnel and the stands made him understand that way. Espanyol has become that family member who only calls to tell misfortunes. He needed the three points to not sink. And he let them escape.
Elche was the perfect occasion to show what this Espanyol wants to be when it grows up and what virtues the coach tries to exploit against theoretically inferior teams. But the Blue and Whites are still trapped in a web of misfortunes and defensive imbalances that make any rival seem insurmountable.
Cornellà visited the last classified (only three points in ten days), the only one who has not won and the most scored in the category. That team took only 11 minutes to find the goal. Another little forceful clearance, this time by Sergi Gómez, and very little attention paid to Pere Milla, who finished off without a mark. Lecomte's stretched orthotic didn't help. The misunderstanding and the whistles, increasingly common, returned to the stands.
Espanyol began there the ignominious task of atoning for their sins. And soon he discovered the reason for the negative numbers of Elche. Braithwaite finished off a great cross from Oliván and shortly after the equalizer came. Edu Expósito pulled personality to leave two rivals and put a cross that Puado finished off at will.
Recovered from the scare, it was time to put things in their place. Espanyol recognized themselves as superior, but could not find a way to prove it. Before the break Puado launched a counterattack and Palacios brought him down as he entered the box. The referee pointed out the foul and expelled the winger, but the VAR decided to enter a play considered gray and Munuera Montero rectified his decision.
After the break, Espanyol's best minutes of the match were given. Puado and Braithwaite's mobility allowed them to find space and their opponent's defensive shortcomings became more visible. With the score still tied, Martínez introduced Keidi Bare to form a double defensive pivot. Despite this defensive change, Braithwaite's goal came after a great play by Aleix Vidal and Óscar Gil on the right. The Dane deflected the center of the side with a subtle quality touch and scored his third goal this season.
The goal did justice and Elche did not seem capable of generating danger. But Espanyol did not want to protect themselves with the ball by prescription of their coach. Martínez took another step back to form with three central defenders. None of them prevented Verdú's shot after a foul on the edge.
To give the finishing touch to the spirit of the stands, Martínez retired a very tired Darder to give entrance to Nico Melamed. Nobody understood the change and Cornellà clearly pointed to the coach. Even the player from Artà, very angry, denied him the greeting when he left. The newcomer found himself with the crosshead on the last play of the game. The misfortune was total
2 - Spanish RCD: Lecomte; Óscar Gil (Calero, min.73), Cabrera, Sergi Gómez, Brian Oliván; Edu Expósito (Bare, min.58), Darder (Nico Melamed, min.83), Vini Souza; Puado (Aleix Vidal, min.58), Braithwaite (Lazo, min.73) and Joselu.
2 - Elche: Edgar Badia; Palacios (Josan, min.46), Roco, Gonzalo Verdú, Bigas, Clerc; Omar Mascarell, Raúl Guti (Gumbau, min.56), Collado (Fidel, min.46; Morente, min.69); Pere Milla and Lucas Boyé (Roger, min. 84).
Goals: 0-1, min.11: Pere Milla. 1-1, min. 24: Handful. 2-1, min.67: Braithwaite. 2-2, min.82: Verdú.
Referee: Munuera Montero (Andalusian committee). He cautioned Vini Souza (min.4), Palacios (min.45), Lucas Boyé (min.49), Mascarell (min.78) and Aleix Vidal (min.88).
Incidents: match corresponding to the eleventh day of LaLiga Santander played at the RCDE Stadium before 17,560 spectators. A minute of silence was observed for Claudio Biern, audiovisual businessman and former vice president of Espanyol, who recently passed away.
