No advantage. And, suddenly, the Spanish left the direct ascent zone. So like a punch from Mike tyson. The team that was on its way to 100 points, without conceding goals and adding up each week, has squandered that advantage in three games in which it has gone down. In Fuenlabrada the victory escaped him in the last gasp due to the error of Diego López. Before him GironaFrom forgiving 2-0, he went to 1-2 in the blink of an eye, an accident. But in Leganés, a great match, Espanyol disappointed with its staging, vulnerable in defense, inoperative in attack, disconnected before an intelligent rival.
Deja vu. Espanyol's game was not too different from that played last year, which was the end of Machín, the last game of 2019. The result was 2-0 and the parakeet team did not hit the ball, as last night, a victim of his mistakes like that 1-0 in which David López failed to resolve a pass from Merida. The midfielder was slow, lost a ball and Leganés resolved masterfully. Miguelón and Calero appeared in the photograph of the expulsion and 2-0. Espanyol faced an equal, as against Mallorca and Rayo, other aspirants, and did not manage to score a goal either.
Problems. In all leagues there are moments of inflection and they usually arrive from matchday 10. The teams study and get to know each other, detect their patterns, their strengths and weaknesses, because right now football has lost its spontaneity, it tends more towards science than art. And, for that very reason, the rivals already know how to neutralize Calero's ball out or how to monitor RdT or Embarba, so Espanyol needs to find solutions from the collective, something that has been lacking in recent weeks. The team never gave a feeling of fluidity except in a few moments, if not of being impenetrable and lethal at the top, with small companies that themselves solved the matches in the areas. And that now begins to not be enough because a goal is not enough. And sometimes it doesn't come.
Mentality. Nobody can brand Vicente Moreno for not seeing the wolf's ears because he has been warning for some time that this situation could come. Espanyol should not lose their nerves or throw everything they have traveled overboard. The team must follow its improvement process from the collective and the players must make an effort. It is not a question of names but of teams, it is not about having the best players but about having all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. There is time, there is raw material and there is a craftsman. There must also be a mentality because, if the League ended today, Espanyol would go to the playoff.