Diego Lopez: The Galician goalkeeper hardly had a job. In Djurdevic's 1-1, the goalkeeper reacted somewhat late to the top scorer in the category, which was very close to the post and with a bounce, difficult to stop. Subsequently, Sporting scored the 2-1 annulled by VAR, in an action in which the goalkeeper did not hit the start.
Oscar Gil: Constantly in the opposite field, the former Elche player gave amplitude and depth, with some precise centers especially to the front of the area: one of them was the prelude to a shot from Darder that Mariño took. He also finished off the crossbar and did not suffer excessively in defense.
David López: The center-back came out in the 1-1 photograph by backing up too much or guiding Djuka to shoot at goal. The one from Sant Cugat had work with the Serbian footballer, who won duels to oxygenate the game of his team. With the ball, Espanyol improved in the second half, while in the first half David found no connections.
Cabrera: He saw a yellow for an excessive entry in the first half. He was unable to help the team in the construction of the game, but he was expeditious in the air and safe as usual, although also with some loopholes.
Pedrosa: The left-back alternated great interned on the left, such as the center of 0-1 after a great uncheck, with some defensive slip such as 2-1 that canceled the VAR, when the rojiblanco winger easily wins the position. He saw the fifth yellow for obstructing the goalkeeper's serve, so he will be low next week.
Keidi Bare: He was substituted after a discreet encounter by the Albanian, who lost the ball that caused the local tie. Espanyol was not fine in the first half, and the midfielder suffered from the extensive possessions of Sporting. He improved in the second half.
Darder: Play with one more gear due to its technical level. He recovered balls, gave criteria and even had an occasion that Mariño ruined. It improves when the parakeet team has the ball and feels comfortable relating to Melendo, although the connection hardly lasted.
Embarba: Your first 15 minutes were excellent, as in the first part of the course. He scored the 0-1 with a left-footed shot, performs some dangerous one-on-one actions and intervened in the game with good associations with Óscar Gil or Melendo. Then it was diluted like Espanyol until the second half.
Melendo: He returned to the starting position from the first game of 2021, in Las Palmas, and was decisive in the 0-1. Pedrosa took advantage of his pass into space to give Embarba the goal assist. It was a spark of a player who was losing prominence as the minutes passed.
David López, with Djuka.
Juan Manuel Serrano Arce
Handful: Again he was the most destabilizing player. At 7 minutes he had already been knocked down and a rojiblanco defender saw the yellow. Although he did not have clear shots, he moved to the left, unbalanced and perfectly interpreted the spaces. Moreno never replaces him, as he also provided defensive work.
Dimata: The Belgian forward made his debut as a starter and played about 70 minutes. In the first half he touched four balls. It was difficult for him to find the spaces due perhaps to the short time he has been training with his teammates. He made a shot that went over the crossbar and played several balls with Babin inside the area in which sparks flew. Little contribution of the winter signing.
Wu lei: Although he had about 20 minutes after his last substitutions, the Chinese forward failed to connect any shot or have significance in the match.
Merida: The party became more open with his entrance. He tried to bring criteria to the game and open on the sides, although he was vulnerable in the rojiblancos counterattacks and failed to improve Keidi Bare.
Melamed: As soon as he entered, he finished off a cross by Óscar Gil over the crossbar when he had everything to score the 1-2. He tried to play inside, freed, but also failed to get in contact in advantageous situations.
Lluís: The central defender had minutes again, this time in a few final minutes in which the two teams signed the tie. He did not make mistakes nor did he manage to do great actions.
Vadillo: The extreme returned to participate, with few minutes. He asked for balls but it was of no consequence. In the last minutes nobody managed to change the script.