Analyzing the behaviors of a team for just one game is audacious. And even more so when it is the debut of a coach and a good part of the squad will not be there when the market ends, or that at least were the intentions of the club when last season expired. However, a match hints at what the coach wants the team's intentions to be. Against Huesca, there were some certainties.
System with wingers and three midfielders. Vicente Moreno himself, after the meeting, stressed that he does not look at systems but rather at the “occupation of spaces”, but that there is always a starting point. In Espanyol, the line of four defenders will be fixed, as well as that of two extremes with flexibility to be in amplitude or occupy interior areas whenever the side joins, as could be seen between Melamed-Dídac and Embarba-Víctor in the first half. The area with the most fluctuations will be the midfield. Always with a player who participates in the beginning of the play, another who occupies the next height and a midfielder. This role was occupied by Melendo, who in the defensive phase played as one more inside.
Recover the ball in the opposite field. It was the slogan that Moreno repeated the most from the bench. “Pressure after loss”. When possession expired, the parakeets went like lions to the ball keeper and nearby opponents to try to regain possession before the opponent organized. Having three players on the inside and two wingers helps that happen, as there are up to six players constantly in the opposite field and close to the center lane of the field. When Huesca took off from goal, the pressure on the rival's ball output was also aggressive.
Play short and inside. Espanyol's goal was curious, in one of the few changes of orientation of the centrals in the first half (Lluís did some more after the break). Vicente Moreno asked his centrals to calm down at the start of the game, Calero slower than Cabrera, who rushed into some actions. Although the centrals abused with passes to the wings due to the pressure of Huesca, Moreno insisted that they play inside, trying to find the midfielders. Melendo and Wu Lei left their area to favor these combinations, Espanyol more obsessed with progressing line by line than in reaching the finishing area by fast track.
Adrián Embarba.
Gorka Leiza
Obsessed with order. Despite the pressures in the opposite field in certain actions, Espanyol entrenched themselves in their field when that attempted robbery in advanced zones expired. Moreno's pulse did not tremble to ask the team for order. In those situations, it is true that the Blue and Whites prioritized their rival attacking them from the outside, as there were hardly any combinations from the inside. However, the wingers suffered, especially Víctor Gómez, who lost numerous duels.
The little details. It happened several times, and it was especially visible when Pedrosa took to the field. “Look at the ball, don't lose sight of it,” Moreno repeated a couple of times to the side., who returned to his position with his back to the game. In the first half, he demanded Nico Melamed to be wide open and Melendo to receive behind the backs of midfielders, small nuances that perfect a team.