Until the double defeat against Girona and Leganés that set off the alarms in the Espanyol environment, no one questioned the best central pair of the championship, formed by Leandro Cabrera and Fernando Calero, two First-Class players in LaLiga SmartBank, architects, among other achievements, of helping Diego López break the record for unbeaten parrot in the category. Between the two they played 13 games and Espanyol added 26 points, with only seven goals conceded and 18 scored..
But after that double accident, Vicente Moreno decided to move pieces. Since then, and six league games have passed, Espanyol have played with other defenders with an even higher point index. Lluís López and David López they played three games and the team added nine of 12, with an average of 2.25 points for two of their predecessors. Even Cabrera formed with Lluís on two other occasions (plus the match against Tenerife on matchday 8) and Espanyol only received one goal and achieved seven of nine points.
The statistics confirm a trend, and it is the solidity of Espanyol regardless of who plays, either a couple of 18 million euros or two players raised in Sant Adrià. Calero, who has always played from the bench since that Butarque game, has been able to redeem himself in the Copa del Rey, where he has stood out against Llagostera and Burgos, showing a great defensive level, especially in the passing game.
The statistics confirm a trend, and it is the solidity of Espanyol regardless of who plays, be it a couple of 18 million euros or two players raised in Sant Adrià
With the loss of Lluís confirmed for this Sunday against Castellón due to the expulsion in Las Palmas, Vicente Moreno has two options on Sunday. One of them is to include Leandro Cabrera with David López, a couple that he already formed the previous day after the expulsion of the youth squad. Another option is to go back to the origins, and dismiss the first round as it started, with David López in midfield alongside Darder and with Calero and Cabrera as center-backs.
Be that as it may, the Valladolid center-back has ended his fallow period, as has happened to other starting players at the beginning and who now start from the substitution (Dídac Vilà, Miguelón or Fran Mérida)Therefore, the Valencian coach could soon return to a formula that gave him good results at the beginning of the season.