Chen's Bitter Grapes

In Second and with a defeat full of controversy, against Las Palmas (1-0). This is how Espanyol welcomed 2021 in which absolutely all the hopes of the club, team and fans are placed. The ascent is the only way. But, paradoxically, also it's about the worst start to a year –And not just because of category or distance– since businessman Chen Yansheng took over the property Of the entity. They had never lost their first league match in a calendar year.

His journey started, albeit unofficially, with 0-0 at Espanyol-Barcelona on January 2, 2016, a mirage in a season full of accidents. In 2017, the first result was a 1-1 at home against Deportivo, the Three Kings Day (Borges and Gerard Moreno scored), while a year later, the January 8, 2018, Espanyol inaugurated the league year by defeating Málaga at La Rosaleda, 0-1, target of Sergi Darder. Also by the minimum but in the RCDE Stadium he prevailed, the January 4, 2019, against Leganés (annotated by Borja Iglesias). AND again against Barcelona came the debut of 2020, an exciting 2-2, with a goal 'in extremis' by Wu Lei, which generated false expectations among the parrots.

The last defeat Espanyol in the first league game of a calendar year went back to January 4, 2015, still with Joan Collet in the presidency, in a Espanyol-Eibar (1-2) with goals from Del Moral, Bóveda and Caicedo. And as for the inaugural opponent of this 2021, Las Palmas, adds and follows the blue and white team without defeating them in their fiefdom: the last time dates from 1988.