If Michael Montaigne said that the word is half of who pronounces it and half of who listens to it, whether a center is correct or not depends in equal measure on the one who executes it and the one who stands out in the area, since both are part of the same play. And in Espanyol, throughout the course, but especially on Monday against Elche, there is a permanent lack of communication that is obvious.
In the exercise of impotence that the Espanyol by Raúl de Tomás after the surprising 0-2, one data stood out above the rest. The blue and white team threw up to 31 centers, 11 of them from set pieces and 19 on playespecially from the right side with Aleix Vidal, Adrián Embarba and Óscar Gil as executors. Of all of them, only four were successful, the rest were rejected by the Elche defense, which was concentrated throughout the match.
Centers against Elche
| Player | Centers | Successful | % |
| Pedrosa | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Embarba | 12 | 2 | 17% |
| Morlanes | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Aleix Vidal | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| RdT | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Puado | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Loren | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Merida | 3 | 2 | 66% |
| Cabrera | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Melamed | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Jofre Carreras | 1 | 0 | 0% |
In the first half, Embarba made a cross to the first effective post, which found RdT, while in the second half, Fran Mérida took three corners that they found a finisher but without danger. That was the offensive production of a Espanyol that, despite playing with two forwards and with Javi Puado who also invaded the finishing areas, he was not able to find his way to the goal with this strategy.
It is not new. Espanyol is the seventeenth most imprecise team in the centers of the championship, a fact that reflects their little presence in the area and the poor quality in these hits. Only Aleix Vidal, with 29.03%. Well above the average of a Espanyol that occupies the seventeenth position, with a 19% success rate, only ahead of Cádiz, Real Madrid and Levante.