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Valladolid: chronicle, goals and result

Espanyol’s heart beats again. At the fifth attempt, Diego Martínez’s team has achieved the much-desired first home win against Valladolid (1-0). It was a rather thick afternoon, one of those that is difficult to digest, with a more tense than enthusiastic audience that came to boo a team that, despite the numerous footballing shortcomings it continues to present, has shown that it has soul.

If Espanyol is alive, it is thanks to having at hand a defibrillator called Joselu, who after the first nine days has already accumulated seven goals, just one less than the top scorer in Primera, Lewandowski. The white-and-blue striker, in fact, is one of the top ten scorers in the five major European leagues. He is not “Van Basten’s first cousin”, as Diego Martínez said, but his goals have already given Espanyol five of the nine points they have accumulated. The striker and Brian Oliván have repeated the connection of the Cadiz field and have produced a goal as valuable as providential. Espanyol is two points away from relegation thanks to the last two players signed by Rufete. With Darder’s permission, the two best performing names are showing at this start of the year. The defender, compliant in defense, continues to add records and each passing game generates more in attack.

In the absence of wingers capable of centering quality balls at the tip, Espanyol have this time found two full-backs with enough depth to unsettle a well-ordered Valladolid. In contrast to the inaccuracies of Óscar Gil, who was returning to the starting line-up after injury, Oliván was bold and incisive, stepping into the opponent’s area frequently and looking for Joselu’s head. Espanyol, with little rhythm with the ball at their feet, has once again shown that a large part of their plan involves defensive positioning in the opponent’s field. One more match, however, the inability to create play inside has caused a thickness that Valladolid has tried to take advantage of. Lecomte, who this time has not starred in any song, has had enough with two saves of little merit to earn credit to continue under the posts, at least, for another week. Masip didn’t have much more work, as Puado continues to be denied in front of goal: when he doesn’t fall asleep, he sends a vaseline with the stick or kicks a volley invalidated for offside.

Nerves took hold of the Cornellà-El Prat stand in the second half, seeing that the white-and-blues went from more to less in a match that they did not even remotely control. Valladolid, in fact, had more possession in a match in which Pacheta’s men neutralized their former team quite well. The suffering was released in the final stretch, when Oliván found the defibrillator of a Spaniard who is beating again.

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