The 'Yellow Submarine' postpones Espanyol's permanence

BarcelonaEspanyol's celebration of their survival will have to wait a few more days. The Blue and Whites failed to pick up a single point from their 1-0 visit to La Cerámica, where a solitary goal from Yeremy Pino helped the home side move into fifth place. This was a relatively easy obstacle for Espanyol, who still maintain a generous cushion of seven points above the relegation zone with just fifteen points left to play.

Espanyol once again demonstrated that they are capable of handling any opponent in 2025, even on the road. This time, the task was even more difficult than previous away games, as it involved neutralizing a team fighting for a Champions League spot next season. Espanyol managed to withstand most of the home side's attacks, but were less decisive in both areas than they have been lately.

The first half ended goalless thanks to VAR, which corrected two poor decisions by Munuera Montero. The referee awarded the first penalty for a foul by Joan Garcia after he cleared the ball and then touched Foyth's head with his arm. After reviewing the play on screen, he changed his mind. Shortly after, he initially ruled Barry's goal was ruled offside due to a shoulder injury. For once, VAR was an ally for Espanyol and corrected two crucial refereeing errors.

Beyond these two plays, Manolo González's team didn't suffer excessively in a fairly open and even first half. Unlike previous opponents, who had sought to dominate the game against the Blue and Whites, Villarreal occasionally ceded the initiative to them with the clear objective of not allowing them to run counterattacks, thus minimizing one of their main strengths. In attack, Espanyol lacked grit. Puado tried from 30 meters out, taking advantage of a poor clearance by Junior Luiz, and twice after the restart with his head, but neither found the target.

Villarreal stepped up the pace in the second half, aware that only a win would allow them to finish the matchday in fifth place, one point ahead of Betis. Yeremy Pino quickly opened the scoring, taking advantage of Omar's only marking error, which left him alone inside the box. The Canary Islander surprised Joan Garcia with a low shot that caught him off guard. The Sallent native, however, proved providential shortly after, preventing a dangerous shot from Comesaña. With everything open in the final stretch, Espanyol tried to be more direct, but found no arguments, beyond a few long crosses, to open the way for Villarreal. Their aerial play was ineffective against the submarine.