An Espanyol without a change of pace

Espanyol matched the power of Sevilla, second in the championship, who had just played in Europe but wanted to follow in the footsteps of Real Madrid in LaLiga. And in the 75th minute, with 21 to go since the referee decided to add six more minutes, he had an opportunity to take all three points due to the expulsion of Jules Koundé. But the opportunity was diluted with the changes of Vicente Moreno, who did not contribute what was expected in the final stretch.

After keeping one more player, Espanyol only shot on goal twice. A shot by Óscar Gil from outside the area that Yaussine Bono easily caught and another by Raúl de Tomás in a transition that finally touched a defender and the ball went to a corner. There was no more trace of the parakeet attack, which lost order and momentum in the final stretch. The technician introduced four changes that were not successful. Aleix Vidal played 26 minutes, Óscar Melendo 15 and Adrián Embarba and Loren Morón, the most notable, just ten.

By minutes, Vidal was the one who participated the most. He started as a winger and ended up on the side, surpassed again and with a yellow card. He intervened in nine actions. He made six good passes, missed two of them and made a defensive block. Due to its characteristics and for occupying the defensive zone in the final stretch, the player was required less prominence in attack and that was the case, not as much as Melendo, Loren and Embarba.

The midfielder, who has not yet completed his renewal with the club, barely touched four balls in the 15 minutes played. Espanyol did not connect with him, insisting more on the left flank, nor did Melendo manage to be decisive. He made two wrong passes, one of them prevented a clear counterattack, he hit one and was fouled as soon as he left the green. Embarba tried instead, but he kept the line of recent weeks.

The winger recovered a ball, cleared another, gave a successful pass and another wrong, but lost both one on one that he tried. Unable to go deep down the right side, or to put a center into the area, the stands became desperate as with the interventions of Loren Morón. Lacking in confidence, he made one of three passes he attempted, committed a foul and excelled more at recovering and clearing a ball. Neither Embarba nor Loren stepped on the area.

Throughout the season, four players who have come off the bench have managed to score. Nico Melamed against Cádiz (2-0), Manu Morlanes against Elche (2-2), Loren Morón in Vigo against Celta (3-1) and, finally, Javi Puado in Valencia (1-2)curiously in a match in which the changes, led by Jofre Carreras, the academy player who now has no chances, were crucial for the comeback.