CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT. Espanyol finds its way back against Elche with a goal on the P. Milla 12′ and a goal on the G. Verdu 82′. Elche was not able to win even if it was better in terms of ball possession (59%)

The match was played at the RCDE Stadium stadium in Cornella de Llobregat on Sunday and it started at 2:00 pm local time. The referee was José Luis Munuera Montero who was helped by Iñigo Prieto López de Ceraín and Antonio Ramón Martínez Moreno. The 4th official was Carlos Fernández Buergo. The weather was clear. The temperature was pleasant at 24.8 degrees Celsius or 76.6 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 76%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

Elche had a strong ball possession 59% while Espanyol was struggling with a 41% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Espanyol had a more offensive attitude with 40 dangerous attacks and 14 shots of which 5 were on target. Nevertheless, that was not enough Espanyol to win the match​.

Espanyol shot 14 times, 5 on target, 9 off target. Talking about the opposition, Elche shot 9 times, 4 on target, 5 off target.

Cards

Espanyol received 2 yellow cards (V. Costa and A. Vidal). On the other side, Elche received 3 yellow cards (H. Palacios, L. Boye and O. Mascarell).

Standings

After playing this match, Espanyol will have 10 points like Almería, Sevilla and Celta de Vigo to hold in the 13th place. On the other side, Elche will have 4 points to hold in the 20th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the La Liga, Espanyol will play away against Mallorca on the 28th of October with a 9-9 head to head record.

Espanyol – Formation

Espanyol started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

The manager Diego Martínez Penas decided to play with the following team: Benjamin Lecomte (6.3), Óscar Gil (7.7), Sergi Gómez (6.4), Leandro Cabrera (6.7), Brian Oliván (7.0), Sergi Darder (6.4), Vinícius Souza (7.0), Edu Expósito (7.1), Martin Braithwaite (7.8), Joselu (6.1) and Javi Puado (7.3).

The home team had on the bench: Nicolás Melamed (6.3), Aleix Vidal (6.1), Joan García, José Carlos Lazo (6.6), Álvaro Fernández, Pol Lozano, Simo, Omar El Hilali, Fernando Calero (6.4), Keidi Bare (7.0) and Dani Gómez.

Substitutions

Espanyol made 5 changes: J. Puado for A. Vidal (58′), Exposito for K. Bare (58′), O. Gil for F. Calero (73′), M. Braithwaite for J. C. Lazo (73′) and S. Darder for N. Melamed (83′).

Best player: Martin Braithwaite​

As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Espanyol was Martin Braithwaite.

His rating is (7.8) with 1 goal, 11 passes (63% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 6 duels out of 9.

Elche – Formation

Elche started with a 5-3-2 line-up (5-3-2).

Jorge Francisco Almirón Quintana played with: Édgar Badía (6.4), Helibelton Palacios (6.6), Enzo Roco (7.0), Gonzalo Verdú (7.6), Pedro Bigas (6.7), Carlos Clerc (6.4), Alex Collado (6.7), Omar Mascarell (7.0), Raúl Guti (6.1), Pere Milla (7.2) and Lucas Boyé (6.8).

They had on the bench: Tete Morente (6.2), Diego González, Fidel (6.8), Jesus Lopez, Gerard Gumbau (7.0), Pol Lirola, Domingos Quina, Axel Werner, Roger Martí, Josan (6.2), Nicolás Fernández and John Donald.

Substitutions

Elche made 5 changes: H. Palacios for Josan (46′), A. Collado for Fidel (46′), R. Guti for G. Gumbau (56′), P. Bigas for Tete Morente (71′) and L. Boye for R. Marti (84′).

Best player: Gonzalo Verdú​

The player that probably impressed the most for Elche was Gonzalo Verdú.

His rating is (7.6) with 1 goal, 44 passes (84% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 5 duels out of 7.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the La Liga.​

• Villarreal – Almería – 2-1
• Espanyol – Elche – 2-2
• Real Betis – Atlético Madrid – 1-2
• FC Barcelona – Athletic Club – 4-0
• Girona – Osasuna – 1-1