BarcelonaEspanyol have started the League with a good dose of fortune, in Vigo. A match that under normal conditions would have lost but, football things, it ended in a draw. A goal by Exposito, taking advantage of a bad defensive refusal, and a penalty whistled by the VAR in the 97th minute, served the white-and-blues to return to Barcelona with a point under their arm.
The result made up the game played by Diego Martínez’s team, a coach who makes his debut on the Periquita bench. Espanyol has been supportive and combative, but without an offensive vocation. And he has been soft in defense, with fumbles that have allowed the Vigo team to get ahead on the scoreboard. However, luck also plays a role and the white-and-blues, despite scoring only twice on goal, were able to get their two goals.
Espanyol needs to strengthen and would do well not to fall into the mistake of looking at the result. Especially because Celta have not done anything out of the world and had enough with a couple of scratches to score. Surely, the best news for Chen’s team is that there are still a fortnight left in the market to be able to strengthen, although for this it will be necessary to work on the departures chapter.
With the RDT serial to be resolved – the striker is still not included in the call-up –, Espanyol has jumped onto the Balaídos turf with the desire to show that the pre-season has served for Diego Martínez to tidy up the team. The work and the predisposition have been noticed, but they have also been missing more decisive footballers, especially in the last third of the field.
Espanyol’s defensive fragility allowed Celta to score two goals
The first half was correct, from a defensive point of view. It is also true that Celta has been passive and was playing to see them coming. But in this context in which nothing was happening, and when the players were waiting for the referee to whistle the end of the first half, Iago Aspas received a ball on the side of the area. The action did not seem to be in danger, but the Galician striker, with a great technical gesture, finished, crossing the ball and making Lecomte’s pull impossible.
The white-and-blue goalkeeper hasn’t had a brilliant debut either. He has proven to be very conservative, preferring to stay under the posts before going out. And this helped Celta score the second goal in the second half. Paciencia, one of the latest signings from the Galician team, has been in charge of scoring. It was 2 to 0, in the 63rd minute. And with less than half an hour to go, everyone assumed that Espanyol would leave Vigo empty-handed.
The white-and-blues have lowered their arms and Celta have been playing for pleasure. So much so, that they ended up relaxing. And in an action that seemed completely inconsequential, with a cross in the Galician area without anyone being able to finish, a defensive error occurred when the ball came out. Exposito, who was coming from the second line, found the ball at his feet and was able to score.
Logic would say that, adjusting the score and with less than 20 minutes to go, Espanyol should go on the attack. But it hasn’t been like that. Again, the white-and-blues – who played in pink – have sinned by lack of ambition. Not a single shot between the three posts. Until they came across a gift at the discount.
Oscar Mingueza commits a penalty in his debut with Celta
Oscar Mingueza, the player who signed for Celta from Barça, came out to play in the last few minutes and was the unfortunate protagonist of the match. In the last action, in the 95th – five minutes had been added –, he wanted to deny a ball at the penalty spot but, instead, he touched the supporting leg of Brian Olivan. The main referee didn’t see it, but the VAR did. After looking at it, Miguel Ortiz indicated the penalty spot and Joselu, with an impeccable shot adjusted to the box, tied the game.
