CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT. Athletic Club bested Espanyol to win 2-1. A goal from S. Darder was decisive in the 90min. It was Athletic Club to strike first with a goal of Iñaki Williams at the 22′. Then Nico Williams scored again for Athletic Club in the 75′ minute. Eventually, Sergi Darder reduced the distance for Espanyol (90′). Eventually, that was it, and the result remained 2-1.
Aleix Vidal received a red card (90′). This double yellow card was one of the reason why Espanyol lost the match.
The match was played at the RCDE Stadium stadium in Cornella de Llobregat on Saturday and it started at 4:15 pm local time. In front of 24,903 spectators. The referee was José Luis Munuera Montero assisted by Iñigo Prieto López de Ceraín and Antonio Ramón Martínez Moreno. The 4th official was Alfonso Vicente Moral. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was pleasant at 16.2 degrees Celsius or 61.16 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 61%.
Match Statistics
- 49 Ball Possession 51
Shots
- 9 Total 12
- 2 On Target 7
- 6 Off Target 3
- 1 Shots blocked 2
- 94 Attack 118
- 27 Dangerous attack 49
- 56 Ball safe 67
- 0 Penalties 0
- 8 Corners 7
- 4 Off Sides 2
Fouls
- 9 Total 11
- 6 Yellow Cards 4
- 0 Double Yellow 0
- 1 Red Card 0
Other
- 5 Substitutions 5
Ball possession
None of the teams was particularly dominant in terms of ball possession. Espanyol was in possession of the ball for 49% of the time vs. Athletic Club that controlled the ball for 51% of the time.
Attitude and shots
Athletic Club was more aggressive with 49 dangerous attacks and 12 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Athletic Club won the match.
Espanyol shot 9 times, 2 on target, 6 off target. On the other side, Athletic Club shot 12 times, 7 on target, 3 off target.
Cards
Espanyol received 5 yellow cards (Martin Braithwaite, José Gragera, Óscar Gil, Fernando Calero and Aleix Vidal). Talking about the opposition, Athletic Club received 4 yellow cards (Óscar de Marcos, Dani García, Oihan Sancet and Unai Simón).
Aleix Vidal (Espanyol) was sent off after receiving a second yellow card (90′).
Match Timeline
Standings
After playing this match, Espanyol will stay with 27 points like Almería and Valencia to remain in the 19th place. On the other side, Athletic Club will have 40 points to hold in the 7th place.
Next matches
In the next match in the La Liga, Espanyol will play away against Real Betis on the 15th of April with a 9-8 head to head record in favor of Espanyol (12 draws).
Athletic Club will host Real Sociedad on the 15th of April with a 12-11 head to head in favor of Real Sociedad (9 draws).
Espanyol – Formation
Espanyol
76'
59'
90'
Espanyol adopted the 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).
The manager Diego Martínez Penas decided to play with the following team: Fernando Pacheco , Ruben Sanchez Saez , César Montes , Leandro Cabrera , Óscar Gil , Edu Expósito , José Gragera , Javi Puado , Sergi Darder , Martin Braithwaite and Joselu .
The home team had on the bench: Denis Suárez, José Carlos Lazo, Álvaro Fernández, Nicolás Melamed , Joan García, Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel, Dani Gómez, Fernando Calero , Keidi Bare, Aleix Vidal and Vinícius Souza.
Substitutions
Espanyol made 5 changes: Rubén Sánchez for Aleix Vidal (46′), Edu Expósito for Nico Melamed (57′), Óscar Gil for Fernando Calero (76′), Javi Puado for Denis Suárez (83′) and José Gragera for Vinicius Costa (83′).
Best player: Edu Expósito
The most impressive player for Espanyol was Edu Expósito.
His rating is with 29 passes (75% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 7 duels out of 7. He performed 2 crosses.
Athletic Club – Formation
Athletic Club
Also Athletic Club adopted the 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).
Ernesto Valverde Tejedor played with: Unai Simón , Óscar de Marcos , Daniel Vivian , Iñigo Martínez , Yuri Berchiche , Dani García , Mikel Vesga , Iñaki Williams , Oihan Sancet , Álex Berenguer and Gorka Guruzeta .
These were the players on the bench: Mikel Balenziaga, Unai Vencedor, Raúl García, Ander Herrera , Ander Capa, Iker Muniain , Malcom Ares, Julen Agirrezabala, Oier Zarraga, Aitor Paredes, Nico Williams and Yeray Álvarez .
Substitutions
Athletic Club made 5 changes: Álex Berenguer for Nico Williams (69′), Oihan Sancet for Muniain (69′), Dani García for Ander Herrera (79′), Iñigo Martínez for Yeray (79′) and Óscar de Marcos for Aitor Paredes (89′).
Best player: Iñaki Williams
The player that probably impressed the most for Athletic Club was Iñaki Williams.
His rating is with 1 goal, 31 passes (61% accurate) and 3 key passes. He was won 4 duels out of 8. He performed 5 crosses.
Results of the day
These are the results of the day in the La Liga.
- Real Madrid – Villarreal – 2-3
- Espanyol – Athletic Club – 1-2
- Osasuna – Elche – 2-1
- Real Sociedad – Getafe – 2-0
