A striptease and two unknowns

Full nude. Against their will, Espanyol undressed in slow motion in their own stadium, added their third defeat in four LaLiga SmartBank games and once again see doubts about a direct promotion that remains as compressed as the Tokyo subway . There was no better photograph to illustrate what happened than that of Pendín and Embarba, as if the presenter gave way to the performance of the winger while Rayo celebrated 2-2, a team that left Cornellà with three points and said goodbye to Espanyol having won both games. The parakeet strip was obscene or comical, as if it were the protagonist of Gigolo, an accident that has happened for the second time despite being so superior on the grass and in the box.

The NAP. It is difficult to explain the epileptic seizures of Vicente Moreno's team, capable of thrashing in Girona and losing (1-0) due to lack of aim, to recover the gunpowder to contain the Lightning in 45 minutes and to pour the entire harvest down the drain in another half-time of disconnection and laziness, as if the Blue and Whites were satisfied with napping despite the ball continuing to roll. This is the team throughout the course and that is how it has been written. Espanyol, due to its talented and complex squad, has signed a minimum pact to return to First Division. Espanyol does not marry brilliance, nor is it a signature team as Moreno's are used to. Maybe that's enough, or not, but the road is still winding … and there is less and less.

From the house. Against Rayo, the game was dyed chiaroscuro. A cheeky Melamed, beginning and end of multiple attacks; or version killer from Handful, a multidisciplinary footballer who on this occasion scored the fifth goal of the league, went next to the glove of Darder or the auction of RdT the best actions of a Espanyol that had no rival and minimized an ill-advised Rayo. More restrained Miguelón and Pedrosa, the parakeet team was dynamic and its four attackers were enough to dismantle Iraola's men.

Wooden bench. But everything changed after the break and Isi's 2-1. When Espanyol is subjected, everything seems worse than it is. Despite this trend, as seen against Osasuna, it raises doubts as to whether this squad would be competitive in the First Division. Miguelón and Calero appeared in the 2-3 photograph, while Pedrosa and Cabrera did not provide the expected solidity either. Darder and Keidi Bare saw two yellows in two border actions, while not Vargas, Mérida or Wu Lei improved the block, quite the opposite. Espanyol sails without a boss in attack, always a slave to his creativity, and when the rival loses respect for him, he always ends up at the mercy.

The doubts. The defeat, and the how, throws up two unknowns. The first is about the possibilities of direct promotion. Espanyol is not worth surviving thanks to his talent, he must also prevail in other facets of the game. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to win against Mallorca, Almería, Sporting or Leganés, to name the clearest examples. To date, the teams in the upper zone continue to choke him. And, the second, the boredom of the staff. In the last matches the substitutes have not changed the course of the match as it happened previously. Moreno's problems grow, also opportunities. Now comes the most delicate section of the course and, as the coach says, “we have to recover all that was lost.”