RdT sharpens the sword against an unforgettable opponent

It happened on January 11, 2019. Rayo Vallecano-Celta. Raúl de Tomás achieved the first and only hat-trick of his career so far in the First Division. He did it to lead his team’s victory 4-2, after a free-kick that touched the post first, another with the right from the small area and a powerful left-foot that served to turn the game around. The people from Vigo had dominated 1-2, but the forward, who had only 15 games in the top flight, made the first great demonstration of its potential.

Almost three years later, the Madrid striker faces Celta once again as the leader of a Espanyol that needs his goals (he has eight) to avoid finishing the first round of the championship without an away victory. The Blue and Whites have accumulated five defeats and three draws, five goals in favor and 11 against. A terrible statistic that places him in the relegation zone of the theoretical classification away from home.

Although he has not achieved a hat trick in his almost two years with Espanyol, the forward has achieved score three goals in the same match … but the VAR ran into his path. The anecdotal afternoon occurred this September against Alavés, a game that the perico team won 1-0 with a goal from Madrid, but that fell offside on two occasions. The first, a pass from Óscar Gil in a great driving by Keidi Bare. And, later, thanks to a pass to the space of Manu Morlanes.

Celta, Athletic, Alavés and Mallorca are the rivals to whom RdT has scored more goals than the current First Division (3). The footballer has scored in half of the games he plays, five goals in the first half and three in the second. There are four teams in the championship that he has not yet managed to score a goal against: Valencia, Sevilla, Osasuna and Real Sociedad.