Espanyol is competing again. And they have discovered that they have a great goalkeeper. These are the two best pieces of news for the blue-and-whites, who this afternoon made Atlético de Madrid sweat hard. Even so, neither a good match nor Fortuño's saves were enough to get anything positive against the second-placed team, the only one that can keep up with Barça in the League. Another cruel goal, by Baena in the 89th minute, dashed the efforts of the parakeets, who improved on the image offered against Rayo, Elche, and Málaga, but have lost again (0-1) and have only achieved one point out of the last 12. The defeat adds even more doubts about the continuity of Manolo González, questioned for weeks and who now faces three consecutive away games that could seal his future.

There are opportunities that make you wait a lifetime. Àngel Fortuño (Barcelona, 2001) knows this well, having defended the Espanyol goal for seventeen years. As a child, he was a ball boy at Cornellà-El Prat, from where he watched up close the players he aspired to emulate one day. Last Friday, at the Malaga stadium, Marko Dmitrovic's injury opened the doors to a starting position he had been chasing for months. And he did not waste the opportunity. “Àngel’s game was perfect,” said Manolo González, who was not surprised by the level of the goalkeeper, who is usually a substitute. Neither he nor anyone at the Sant Adrià sports city, which has been his home since he was 7 years old. “I have known him for a long time and I know he is a great goalkeeper. I was looking forward to him being able to prove it,” added Pol Lozano, one of the first team captains.

Although Manolo González and Monchi denied that the match at La Rosaleda was an ultimatum for the Galician coach, there was a feeling in the air that another defeat for Espanyol, on the field of the bottom team in the category, would greatly complicate the situation of the team and its coach, who were coming off a home loss against the last-placed team while having an extra player. In Malaga, where Bryan Zaragoza scored a great goal to put the 'periquitos' ahead and Fortuño played in goal, they were one minute short because in the 93rd minute, in a very cruel way, Niño equalized a not-at-all brilliant match (1-1), but one that Espanyol had already won. The point avoids a greater evil, but it also does not serve to dispel the doubts of a blue-and-white side that continues to be unable to find its way back to victory. And next Saturday they host Atlético de Madrid.

Raúl Tamudo, the top Catalan goalscorer, was signed from Milán Santa Coloma in exchange for six balls. And Joan Capdevila, the only white-and-blue world champion, was discovered when he was playing for Tàrrega in a Copa Generalitat triangular tournament. Barça also wanted him, but he was ultimately convinced by Josep Manel Casanova (1951-2017), a former player, former coach, and coordinator of Espanyol's youth football for nearly two decades. Lardín, Sergio González, Coro... The list of talents he forged is very long. That is why he is considered the father of the white-and-blue youth academy. When he died of a heart attack while watching a youth match of Málaga, many of them, as in the case of Tamudo and Capdevila, said goodbye to him by explaining that he had "changed their lives".

"People have been talking about it in the village for weeks. It's historic for Lleida to make its debut in our home," said a busy Ivan Borrell, president of Sunyer, the modest team from a small Segrià village of 310 inhabitants, surrounded by fruit tree crops, especially peach trees. "Since it wasn't raining here, on Saturday afternoon we leveled the sand on the pitch. We did it with some bars that we dragged with a tractor." On Sunday at noon, hours before the match, Ivan painted the lines of the playing field with chalk.

At the RCDE Stadium auditorium, they are already making room for a new portrait. If Roberto Fernández (Puente Genil, Córdoba, 2002) makes his debut with the senior Spanish national team on Saturday against the Czech Republic or on Tuesday in Croatia, his photograph will become part of Espanyol’s gallery of internationals, alongside those of Joselu Mato and Raúl de Tomás. The call-up is the reward for his dazzling start to the season and, for the moment, the culmination of a journey that began at Salerm Puente Genil, the club in his hometown.

“Vera, Parra, Teruel, Artigas, Diego, Casas, González, Grau, Celma, Pujol, Segarra and Egea. Pujol is my father, who was a forward and was on trial at Espanyol,” says Xavier Pujol with a smile, after reciting from memory the starting eleven from a photo from the 1950-51 season that hangs on one of the walls of the ground floor of his house, in a small town in the interior of the Garraf. That space was prepared to be a wine cellar, but Xavier, one of the most recognized white-and-blue collectors most recognized, decided to turn it into a museum dedicated to the club of his loves.

The painful defeat against Elche called into question the continuity of Manolo González at the helm of Espanyol. The Galician coach himself acknowledged in a press conference that it had been a "dreadful" match, the "worst" since he has been at the blue-and-white club. With one man down for 85 minutes, the bottom team of the League won with authority at Cornellà-El Prat (1-3) in the prelude to a 21-day international break, favorable for making a coaching change.

The first half at Butarque did not serve as a warning to Espanyol, who last night lost heavily once again (1-3). This time as the home team, against the bottom side of the League and with an extra player from practically the beginning of the match. The passivity and inability against an Elche side that had not yet won in the League sparked whistles at Cornellà-El Prat and leaves Manolo González very shaken, who, despite having seven points, faces a long international break after two defeats that hurt a lot, especially due to the worrying image of his team.

Espanyol lamented their disastrous start in Leganés. In a nine-point week and after a great triumph at El Sadar, 45 calamitous minutes led to their defeat (2-1) against a Rayo Vallecano side playing in exile. If four days ago in Pamplona the rivals' mistakes paved the way, yesterday their own errors made life very difficult for them, right from the start.

Historically, El Sadar has been a cursed field for Espanyol: in Pamplona they began to mourn the 2020 relegation and two decades ago they lost their qualification for the Champions League. But in recent months that has changed: the previous season they sealed their survival with a great triumph, and this afternoon, less than four months later, they won their first away game of the season there (0-2).

At Osasuna's field, Espanyol has celebrated safety and has mourned relegations, but in the white-and-blue popular imagination, the Sadar stadium is deeply linked to the name of a very high-profile referee: Eduardo Iturralde González. It has been more than 20 years since the episode that gave rise to his black legend among the periquito fan base; despite the passage of time, there is no Espanyol fan who does not remember him when their team competes in Pamplona. And this Saturday (16:15, Movistar+ LaLiga and DAZN), six days after the refereeing controversy against Sevilla, the Catalan side returns to visit the Navarrese capital to face Osasuna.

Since March 17, 2024, the day Manolo González debuted on the blue-and-white bench, Espanyol has changed its president and owner, its sporting director –Garagarza, on leave, keeps the position, but his duties are performed by Monchi– and, even, its division. One of the few things that has not changed is, precisely, the coach. A Manolo who yesterday managed his 100th match in charge of the first team.

Espanyol has ended the first transfer window of the Monchi era with two operations closed on the last day of the market: the departure of Rubén Sánchez to Elche and the incorporation of Andoni Gorosabel on loan. A right-back who was not in Manolo's plans leaves, and another arrives, from Athletic Club and with a lot of experience in the First Division, to compete with Omar El Hilali for a place in the starting eleven.

Espanyol's first away trip ended in disappointment because Mikel Oyarzabal decided it so. The Real Sociedad attacker, honored for being a world champion, made the white-and-blues pay dearly for their mistakes (2-1). Two assists from the Eibar footballer sealed the fate of the Periquitos, who were too erratic yesterday at Anoeta. Roberto Fernández's great goal was of no use to the Catalans, punished by Barrene and Óskarsson. Despite a good start to the league, the Periquitos only have three points out of nine.

Andorra is a small country with two very different footballing realities. On the one hand, Gerard Piqué's FC Andorra, professionalized and integrated into the Spanish league system. On the other, a much more modest and unknown football that competes under the Principality's flag. With a budget ten times lower than that of the ex-Blaugrana's team, Inter Club d'Escaldes is just 90 minutes away from qualifying for the Conference League. If this Thursday (7:00 PM) they overcome Kosovo's Drita – they drew 2-2 in Pristina – in the second leg of the last qualifying round, they will make history: they will be the first Andorran club to compete in the final stage of a European competition.

When he came out of the dressing room tunnel towards the bench, more than thirty photographers focused on José Mourinho. He was the man of the day: 13 years later he was returning to manage Real Madrid in an official match. The blame lies with 20 months without titles and a dressing room turned into a henhouse. Many fewer flashes photographed Manolo González, the main supporter of Àlex Calatrava, the young Barcelonian who seven years ago worked early mornings at Primark while playing for Parets in Primera Catalana and who yesterday almost spoiled the Portuguese coach's return to the League. The young Carlos Espí prevented it in the 90th minute with a saving goal for the Madridistas, who are starting this second spell with the Setúbal coach on the bench on the right foot (1-2).One of the tasks that Florentino has entrusted to the new coach is to fit Vinícius and Mbappé on the pitch, who at Madrid seem like oil and water. In Cornellà, on the Portuguese's debut, both were starters. Bellingham too, who arrived four days ago from vacation and who was one of the big surprises in the starting eleven. The Englishman immediately justified the coach's decision: before the 10th minute he connected with a header to make it 1-0 after a great free-kick from Arda Güler.Driven by the energy of the British midfielder and Valverde, Mourinho's new Madrid began its new era like a bullet. If it weren't for Clemens Riedel, who cleared a ball off the line, and Dmitrovic, with another saving foot, Espanyol would have reached minute 21, magical at Cornellà-El Prat, with the match decided. It was a mirage. A distant shot from Riedel and a deflected header from Roberto lifted the parakeets off the canvas, who are rebels at heart and who needed very little to believe in a comeback.In the longest possession of the home team, Javi Hernández accelerated an action inside the box and, just as last week he served the 2-0 to Roberto, last night he assisted Cala for the equalizer. The Barcelonian, who just last week debuted in the First Division, shot with soul to debut in the League and score a goal against Courtois, the best goalkeeper in the world. Dreams sometimes come true. The day all the international press was focused on famous people like Mbappé, Vinícius, and Mourinho, Cala managed to shine with his own light, demonstrating that, in life, dreams can often come true.

At La21 nobody has a bad word about Roger Hinojo (Cabrianes, 2005). Everyone who has met him since he arrived, 12 years ago, says he is an "extraordinarily normal" guy who lives far from the clichés surrounding footballers. He left home at 16 and has gone through all the ranks of the youth academy until his debut at the RCDE Stadium last Sunday at the age of 20. He had a great game. He is the man of the week in white-and-blue terms because days later he agreed to wear the number 21, which honors Jarque's memory and gives its name to the sports city of the club of his life. And this Saturday, as a left-back, he will mark Yan Diomande, the most expensive signing in the history of a Madrid team that is premiering a coach: José Mourinho.What did you hear on Sunday?

It hasn't even been four months since Levante last visited the RCDE Stadium. That night, cold for April, very few would have imagined that in 2026 both teams would meet again in the First Division. Espanyol, who hadn't won for 16 matchdays, was on the path to the abyss, and Levante, who didn't take the three points because they hit the crossbar in the final play, were halfway to the Second Division.

Nené, Milosevic, Domoraud, Juanfran Torres, Coutinho, Ben Sahar, Lucas Vázquez, Asensio, Osvaldo, Kumbulla or Carlos Romero. The list of loaned players who have left their mark on Espanyol is very long. Also, the list of players on loan who have passed through the Catalan team with more pain than glory. This is the case of Finnan, Arlauskis, Alfa Semedo, Lecomte, or, more recently, Ramon Ramos, Ünüvar or Cheddira. Also, that of Samuel Eto'o, loaned by Real Madrid in January 1999; he was 17 years old and only played 33 minutes in white and blue in the Copa del Rey and a little while in the Copa Catalunya.