The Darwinian roadmap of Espanyol by Vicente Moreno

Espanyol has won ten games since landing in the Second Division. And, practically all, with a common denominator: logic. In their confrontations against rivals who on paper are manifestly inferior, in budget and classification (Another thing is the competitiveness that every rival in the category is capable of showing), the parakeet set is infallible. He defeats them, usually not with the image of an overwhelming team, but solvent. This happened, without going any further, last Sunday against Zaragoza and this Wednesday against Cartagena, whom he defeated only on the basis of perseverance. Commendable regularity.

Such is the philosophy that Vicente Moreno, an experienced coach in the category, has implemented in a team that, in those crashes, does not amaze but does not deflate. Like a Malaysian boot putting time in your favor to exhaust an adversary with less wardrobe bottom until a crack emerges to sneak through, the blue and white also defeated Oviedo, Sabadell or Alcorcón in the first stage of LaLiga. Absolute pragmatism. They were going the same way in Fuenlabrada, against a bigger opponent, or against Girona before the plans fell apart in the final minutes. The good news against Zaragoza and especially Cartagena, with a comeback included, is that Espanyol returned to kill a game to avoid major upsets.

With this logic, of enormous merit in an unpredictable category, the parakeet team is accumulating points and more points in the bag. And so it adds up to 33. The great unknown is whether the strategy will be enough for him at the end of the season, given that the law of the strongest does not work when the other team is a direct rival.. He has not defeated any yet, among them Mallorca and Leganés, first and third respectively, who are not failing either. And only two go up the direct route. The one that is forced to take Espanyol. It will be seen, without going any further, this Sunday against Sporting de Gijón by David Gallego …