The specialist. Make it hot in August or cold in January, whether on a sunny afternoon in Cornellà or in the closed night of Burgos, Espanyol acts with the trade of a specialist, without fail, without fanfare, with astonishing security and cold blood. It is what was seen again in El Plantío, against a rival who demonstrated his candidacy for promotion to Second A and that at times he had the blue and white against the ropes. But it mattered little to those of Vicente Moreno, who have learned to suffer like no one else and to assert their virtues in attack. There are no gaffes in a first lap in which everything has flowed logically.
The merit. Because El Plantío refers to another era, like the Berlin Wall or the 'cassette', and even the television image was consistent, with a color that was anything but sharp, with a frozen field. A favorable setting to stumble, especially if eight of your best players (at least starters) have stayed in Barcelona. And therein lies the merit of Espanyol, whose wardrobe adapts to any temperature and walks in the Cup as firm and effective as in La Liga, where it has only lost four times to Rayo, Leganés, Girona and Las Palmas. Winning as a habit, like brushing your teeth.
Upward. Espanyol's victory was forged in his bones, unbreakable. There is a skeleton in the team that never breaks down, a conviction that the party will fall on their side at any moment. Apart from that protection, several players held the team in delicate moments, such as Oier, again savior, or Pol Lozano, this time more successful in all his actions and a striker in midfield against Burgos attacks. In attack, Melamed was again more decisive than Vargas, while Max Svensson achieved what Campuzano or Vadillo has not yet been able to do, to score.
Dani Pendín.
RCDESPANYOL
Wu Lei. Separate mention deserves the Chinese striker, again scorer. No one can reproach Lei for his tenacity and perseverance in each meeting, whether he sees the door or not. He came from a less developed football and his training process has many gaps, but he makes up for them with his uncheck and speed, two qualities that, well interpreted, provide the team with what is lacking in players less incisive to space, such as RdT or Campuzano. A player who has already scored 14 goals in 83 parakeet matches.
A utopian dream. Of all the virtues of Vicente Moreno, one of the most notorious is the management of the group. So much so that, without dropping the rings, he left the prominence of this meeting to his assistant and friend Dani Pendín, a whole institution in Burgos, who received a tribute. The Valencian coach understands the season as a collective work, of his coaching staff and the squad. That is why dreaming of going very far in the Cup can be a utopia. The Llagostera and Burgos team will be the one for the following rounds. It is the best decision so that the whole group is plugged in and to avoid overloading important players in La Liga, where the only objective of the course lies. Whatever it has to be in this competition, Espanyol will continue to be a team without fanfare.