In free fall. A disastrous Espanyol suffered a new defeat in Gijón, the second in a row, the third in four games, and certified his bad football moment. Worse than that, Espanyol left El Molinón with the feeling that promotion will be much more difficult than the squad should. The difficulties to be dominant in the areas for another week is his biggest sin. He failed too much on the opponent's side and gave away rudely on his own. Thus, a very discreet Sporting was right on the two occasions it had to easily knock down Luis García's men.
The doubts that existed until now have become an undeniable certainty. This Espanyol does not carbure. The shipwreck in El Molinón is no longer a wake-up call, but rather an open wound in a team that is a victim of itself. Jofre made a mistake as soon as the game began in a one-on-one match against Yáñez, who prevented a goal from Puado's midfield. Óscar Gil also failed, whose exasperating slowness gave Otero a goal. In football he did not shine at any time and the blows took him out of the game until he ended up completely deranged.
Luis García made several changes again. This time he opted for Jofre on the right and Aguado on the double pivot alongside Gragera, who was returning to his house. And both were, in reality, the best on the team. The winger had several chances as a result of his faith and his insistence. The best, as soon as the game starts. Once again the parakeet team forgave in the first minutes, something very recurring this season. Missed goals that have cost him many points.
The game was balanced in the first minutes. Espanyol seemed dominant against a Sporting that did not want to open up to an a priori forceful team. The areas were nowhere to be seen. Thus, Puado looked for the goal from the middle of the field. Yáñez avoided it with ease and confidence. It was the best and the only positive thing about the youth squad in the entire game.
With the game in no man's land came the play that changed everything. Calero controlled long and committed Óscar Gil. The full-back did not understand the risk and was exasperatedly slow until Campuzano arrived to steal the ball from him. Later, in the one-on-one match, Otero beat Pacheco with class. It is not the first time that the full-back, starting due to Omar's injury, has given away points. Luis García seems forced to seek a change in system so as not to compromise the player with the most fragile mentality of the team.
In the second half, Espanyol's reaction was far from savage. Quite the opposite. The parakeet team has even lost the pride to come back from games. A shot by Braithwaite went wide after a tackle by Puado. And nothing more until Sporting sentenced. Once again Campuzano was the smartest to control a ball inside the area against Calero and his cross shot, with more placement than power, ended up in the net. The parakeet youth player did not want to celebrate the goal.
But there was more. Because Espanyol tried to avoid the inevitable and some hands inside the Gaspar area allowed them to have a penalty. Not even Espanyol was able to score. Braithwaite shot weakly and Yáñez, once again, proved intractable, avoiding the goal twice after Melamed's attempt.
Depending on the results, the parakeet team could finish sixth in the standings this day. Beyond the numbers, which are very negative for the final objective, the sensations are those of a team completely adrift incapable of avoiding mistakes week after week.
