Just a slip … A “bad day”, as Vicente Moreno commented after Espanyol's slip in Mallorca, anyone has. A bad day can disappear the next morning (or Saturday the 11th), when you wake up and everything is rolling again. A bad day can be a warning of other bad days to come. And there are bad days that carry consequences, and then those bad days turn into good days in the future because even worse are expected. Venturing any of these scenarios is daring at this point. But the Mallorca party does leave some warnings and other images that are somewhat disconcerting.
One hand less. It was the sequence of the game. An Adrián Embarba who had completed 55 minutes as gray as the rest of the attackers (seven wrong passes and only four correct ones) and who had been “touched” on an ankle during the week (he played undercover), he left the field swearing in Aramaic and with a withered face. He did not greet his teammates on the bench and, when Vicente Moreno went to extend his hand, he refused, turned around and left angry. As much as the players do not like to be changed, football is only understood from the collective commitment. Embarba's gesture is a lack of respect for the coach and the teammates on the bench. He will surely ask for forgiveness and everything must be there. To err is human, but surprised that rudeness in a locker room classified as “ideal” and with a Vicente Moreno who has a solid “leadership”.
No goal. Behind Embarba's ‘tantrum’ other assumptions can be hidden, and it is the role of the strikers and wingers in the return to First Division. Espanyol has been (until that Black Friday) a supportive team in defense: in fact, until Friday, it was the team that defended closest to the goal of all LaLiga. The wingers were committed to helping the wingers, even Dimata and RdT have stood out more for that work than for their goals, at the moment an empty statistic after 270 minutes. So far, either because they have had three bad days or for other reasons, none of the attackers has offered their best version.
“That rudeness was surprised in a dressing room classified as” ideal “and with a Vicente Moreno who has a solid” leadership “.”
Unhinged. But Mallorca, a kind of island of troubles for Espanyol, left other images. From the hostile reception of some fans of the parakeet team coach, to the whistles at Vicente Moreno or the coach fleeing after the match without greeting a Luis García who threw him in the face of Dani Pendín. Too many intrahistories must be hidden among technicians. The Valencian is still reminded of his departure from the club, which took half a subsequent press conference. “I name Mallorca when I want,” he stressed in one of his speeches.
Who knows. But beyond that emotionally damaging atmosphere for Espanyol, in terms of football the parakeet team was outmatched, misplaced, dislodged … Put whatever adjective you want. Perhaps the meeting (it is easy to speak to the last bull) required a third midfielder and the resignation of a forward, to take the ball from Luis García's team, to be able to destroy the vermilion pressure and prevent Kubo from always staying paired with Dídac, who barely had any help. That caused the defensive solidity to melt, and we no longer saw Gómez and Cabrera as strong. The first one was sent off and photographed in the goal. His image was that of Espanyol. A bad day. Who knows.