Espanyol and his fans applauded what happened in the first two days of the LaLiga return. A victory against Alavés and a Homeric draw (with one less) in Getafe, while Leganés, Mallorca, Celta and Eibar hardly added up and did not convey the best feelings. But, in the third game, everything turned 180 degrees: salvation is now five points away and there are only eight games left. The parakeet team made mistakes of the past and now the calendar offers a triad of difficult encounters.
Espanyol visit this Thursday to a boiling Betis after Rubi's dismissal. The morbid confrontation with the previous coach, whose march was the fall of the first piece of the domino, is buried. Betis are teaming up to win a game that should take them away from the difficulties of relegation: the verdiblancos have only added one point out of nine.
Afterwards, Real Madrid, in the midst of fighting for LaLiga, visits the RCDE Stadium on Sunday at 22:00. The Whites count their matches by victories in the absence of Anoeta's visit this Sunday, and they are serious candidates for the title after Barcelona stumbled in Seville. A hard nut to crack, as will be the case after Real Sociedad, which has not started the rerun on the right foot but continues to aspire to enter Europe. In these three games, the parakeets must not hang up, because of the last five games, three will be against direct rivals: Eibar, Celta and Leganés.
The parakeet team started this 11-day stretch six points from salvation, and has managed to cut a point in three games, although it is insufficient considering that two of those rivals were Alavés and Levante. The squad will rest this Monday and Tuesday will continue with training. The game against Betis seems (almost) defining.