A frantic minute and 27 seconds for Espanyol and Mbappé

Two outbursts, two mistakes and one injury. As if the luxurious Cinderella carriage that playing at the RCDE Stadium means for Espanyol became a humble pumpkin at home, not even the parrots could achieve victory at the Martínez Valero, where they first had everything lost and then they caressed those three points. From the Blue and White point of view, there were on the one hand two outbursts: the first five minutes, with three shots on goal by the experienced Kiko Casilla, and the minute and 27 seconds in which he scored his two goals. And also two errors, translated into convictions: that of David López that was 1-0 and the unfortunate rebound that Benedetto translated into 2-2. The tie may taste bittersweet, especially for Vicente Moreno, who was injured on top of that, but it is one more point against Elche who would have won in 95 ‘if it had not been for a providential Diego López. The triumph, in any case, was to remember Gori, with those shirts before the opening whistle.

A scientific finding. It is not pointed out by the classic study from the University of Pennsylvania, nor has it been published by the scientific journal The Lancet. Although they might as well. The time distance between frustration and happiness is exactly one minute and 27 seconds. Just those that were enough in Elche for Espanyol to go from defeat to momentary victory, from 1-0 to 1-2, by virtue of the goals of Morlanes (50 ‘0’ ‘) and – yes, you have guessed it – by Raúl de Tomás (51 ‘3’ ‘). It is also the time that breaks the sound barrier, as the more than 400 brave parrots displaced to the Martínez Valero del silencio pass by to make themselves heard more than the local fans. A frenzy that science itself was responsible for dissuading later, with Benedetto’s goal, to deny that Espanyol could achieve their first victory as a visitor and Elche, lose for the first time at home.

Morlanes, Yangel, Melendo. Everything that went wrong for Vicente Moreno in the first half resulted in the restart. Providential Morlanes entry, not only to help maintain a paradoxically lost defensive balance with more defensive players, but to score. Basic the agitation of Nico Melamed starting from the left wing. And both the entry of Aleix Vidal, minutes after his recovery, and the debut as a Espanyol player by Yangel Herrera, called to refine problems in the core that in Elche jumped into view. The mole was in the injuries of Óscar Gil and Melendo, the latter indisputable in a section of the competition in which the blue and white team has reconciled with itself.

The midfielder that was. As a good captain, whenever they ask him, David López will say that he feels comfortable in the pivot, his original demarcation. As if they ask him to be a goalkeeper: he will. But it’s been five years, since his return to Espanyol, that David is central. And remarkable. If to this is added an obvious lack of rhythm, after a summer of convalescence, having to play two games as a starter in five days out of nowhere – the perfect storm between Keidi Bare’s injury, the too tight discharge of Yangel Herrera and, why not say it, Vicente Moreno’s decision to line him up–, actions such as the 1-0 of Elche happen. David looks bad, probably no one screams at him warning him of the latent danger and Lucas Boyé bursts in revolutionized to leave him in the lurch.

The missing Wu Lei. The captain was not the only victim at halftime, due to a less defensive but more creative bet like Morlanes. Nico Melamed also came in for Wu Lei, who except in the line-up sheet had barely appeared in the game. In the first minutes, the coach’s intention had been glimpsed, similar to that of the Sevilla-Espanyol day, to place the Chinese on the left wing as a false winger and almost as a second striker, in a 4-4-2 liar that would allow Pedrosa take over the whole band as a lane. Wu Lei was neither there nor expected, while the left-hander became the only parakeet player capable of generating imbalance in the first half, and in the second he provided an exquisite assist for Raúl de Tomás’ 1-2. His fifth target, the first away from Cornellà.

Mbappé’s. Espanyol had the victory in their hands. And he would have achieved it if it had not been for an unfortunate rebound, more typical of a billiard carom, with Cabrera’s clearance that, after bouncing off Yangel, fell at the feet of a voracious Benedetto. If the Espanyol center-back was heading, it was just because he had the Argentine behind him, and with his head offside, at the moment when Fidel crossed. In other words, an action identical to that of Mbappé’s famous goal in the Nations League final. In that France-Spain, Eric García broke the ‘offside’ by the mere fact of clearing. The same thing happened at Elche-Espanyol: if Cabrera lets the ball pass, it is Benedetto’s illegal position and there is no goal. But the norm is what it is and, finally, the parrots left with a point from Martínez Valero. Add up and go on.