Espanyol’s whip

Although by hackney it is still true, it is not a piece of cake to win a match in First. Espanyol knows it well, who was about to fall at the RCDE Stadium against Levante (4-3), won by just one goal against Alavés (1-0) and fell with a crash, more for the forms than for the result, in Getafe (2-1). Now Elche, in the relegation zone, threatens the fortress of Cornellà-El Prat. It has arguments, and a piece of information to hold onto.

His coach Francisco Rodríguez, who came to replace Fran Escribà, has spectacular numbers against the parrots. It is the team that does the best, with only one defeat (14%), three draws and three victories, In other words, he has added 12 out of 21 points, always directing teams with less budget and resources than the Blue and Whites. One thing to keep in mind.

Formed, even for a season, in the grassroots football of Espanyol, after his time as a player Francisco began his career on the benches in Almería, if city. It was the 2013-14 season with Javier Aguirre at the helm of the Blue and Whites. 0-0 and 1-2 for Francisco’s team in the final part of the course, a meeting that raised the criticism of parakeet fans when they saw how Espanyol had let go in the final stretch of the championship, where they added two points from the last 24.

In Sergio González’s debut as Espanyol coach, the following season, the result was 1-1. There was no return game due to the dismissal of the young coach. They saw each other in the 2018-19 campaign at Huesca-Espanyol (0-2), the first away victory for Joan Francesc Rubi’s team, the only one capable of winning the Almeria coach. Always countercultural that of Vilassar. 1-1 was the result of the return.

But Francisco took his whip to maximum intensity when he led Girona the previous year in Second. The people of Girona were, together with Rayo Vallecano, the only teams capable of winning both games against Espanyol. 1-2 at Cornellà-El Prat, with a comeback; and 1-0 in Montilivi in ​​a match in which the Blue and Whites pitched up to 20 times for five for the local team.