In a sport as unpredictable as football where there are hardly two equal plays and the slates are wet paper when the ball rolls, there is no greater gratification than score on the strategy move worked before in training. One example is the hug on the bench Spanish after the first goal of Javi puado, after taking advantage of a clearance by the goalkeeper of The palms after serving a corner.
The set piece has given Espanyol quite a bit of joy this season and accounts for 17 of the 63 goals scored, 27%. Six of them, Yes indeed, they came from the penalty spot, in less trainable situations, even Raúl de Tomás has missed three shots, for what the figure could be higher. The other 11 goals came from lateral, frontal or corner fouls, where Espanyol is one of the most dangerous teams in the championship.
The numbers are there. Until matchday 35 (before the match against Las Palmas) Espanyol converted 3.7% of their actions from set pieces into a goal, aiming at the rival goal. Only Almería, with 4.7%, surpasses it. Not so in shots on goal in those centers or shots on goal, since 28.5% end up with a blow between the three clubs, the best in the category. Therefore, the strategy works at Espanyol, and if they have not scored more goals, it has only been because of their aim.
The data even I know accentuates even more with the corners. Espanyol is the team that has thrown the most so far this season, with an average of 5.5 per game, and 41.1% of them have managed to finish them off. Players like Leandro Cabrera, David López, Fernando Calero or Raúl de Tomás They are the main threats parrots in corner kicks, and also Adrián Embarba has a lot to say as he is the top assistant in the category. Espanyol has scored four goals from corners, six from penalties, four from a frontal foul and three from a lateral foul.