The paradox of Espanyol

He approached the perfect match. For some members of the wardrobe, in fact, it was. The authority with which Espanyol defeated Real Madrid just before the national team break, not only did he return joy to the team and its people, and generated a climate of peace that the club has been able to maintain these two weeks, but also confirmed the strange paradox that surrounds the parakeet as a whole. Since his return to First, he performs better the more powerful and away from the standards of Second is his rival. A tonic that you must resolve immediately if you want to prolong your state of grace.

Was the 2-1 against Real Madrid the culmination of a dynamic which had already started in August, also at the RCDE Stadium, in front of a Villarreal who had just won the Europa League and which Espanyol won in many stages (0-0), and only bad fortune saved him from defeating with a goal disallowed in minute 94. Even before, on the first matchday, had matched the set of Vicente Moreno forces with an Osasuna (0-0) that is not counted a priori among the greats, but that has started with a rocket and occupies the fifth position.

The visit to Cornellà del Atlético de Madrid (1-2), with a first part of the parakeets so immaculate Like his subsequent performance against the whites, he reaffirmed a way forward, that of a football that adapts to the contexts, that plays several games in the same game: combinative, direct, aggressive, counter-striker… As appropriate. Only in minute 99 did the coin fall on the red and white side. AND against another contender for the title, Sevilla, Espanyol also had to acclimatize quickly to a situation from which he did not come out with a result (2-0) but at times in the game.

Paradoxically, a football much grayer It is the one offered by the Blue and White team –except in some phases– in their first victory of the season, against Alavés (1-0), in their epic draw against Betis (2-2) and, of course, in their unmitigated defeat against Mallorca (1-0), the meeting in which the worst sensations offered.

The profile of rivals who can give the initiative to Espanyol –Although the Verdiblancos do have delicate ‘players’– It is the one that has bothered you the most to date, even though it came from live with that situation every week in the Second Division.

And that is the paradox that must be solved as soon as possible, because on Monday a Cádiz visits him –Which he was able to overcome (0-2) in preseason– who will shamelessly pass the ball to him, and then it will be measured with Elche and Getafe. An ecosystem in which the parrots must once again show themselves not only as a team capable of defeating the giants but also as the off-road champion which was last season.