Espanyol drew against Athletic in a hectic match, of many kilometers. Vicente Moreno appreciated that “resistance” of his team against such a physical team. The coach summed up the meeting like this: “We played a game in good moments against a great team, we had just accumulated four games. The physical demand is brutal. They will surely be at the maximum of high intensity. In the final part you can see the physical potential, but I think the team competed very well. He has only lost one game. “
Vicente Moreno decided to bet on Manu Morlanes in midfield and Nico Melamed in the extreme, two decisions that rewarded his excellent second half against Elche and that could fit in a match played face to face, back and forth. The technician blamed it on “Against a team of their level and how they push and squeeze, we try to compete with the ball, playing soccer, trying to overcome that pressure. Maybe it is easier to go to the second play but we look for another alternative. There were good moments, in those we were better and in others we were not, especially because of that physique that he has. They are the ones with the highest intensity as well. “
La Liga Santander
* Data updated as of October 26, 2021
Diego López’s performance did not leave anyone indifferent. Marcelino García Toral called him an “octopus”, capable of having “more than two legs and two hands”, and the Espanyol coach did not deprive himself of praise, although he was more restrained. “We always have a high level. There are days when he has some action of a higher level. He has made a stop at the level he has, it does not surprise us at all,” he said.
The technician did not want to pronounce on the expulsion of Raúl de Tomás. The coach denied that he saw the repeated play afterwards and from a distance “it seemed that the two did the same.” Later, he said briefly that “I don’t want to comment on anything” when he was insisted on the referee’s decision.