A Espanyol with two coaches resuscitates in Villarreal

BarcelonaIt felt very strange not to see Manolo González on the Espanyol bench. Even more so to have Sergio García sitting there, who not long ago was celebrating goals on the pitch at Cornellà-El Prat. He now manages the reserve team and, since Eder Sarabia is carrying a suspension and had to watch the match from a box, the man from Bon Pastor was in charge of trying to lift the spirits of a depressed team that had come from falling with a crash on the field of a Segunda RFEF side. And he succeeded.

Sergio García returned to celebrate a goal in the Primera, this time from outside the pitch: Cabrera's goal, which gave Espanyol a very well-deserved victory (0-1) at a Champions League stadium like Villarreal's and allowed the blue-and-whites to climb out of the relegation zone and put an end to a streak of three consecutive defeats. A breath of fresh air for a team that had only won four matches this 2026 and that faces the arrival of Sarabia with optimism.

The revolution of the youngsters

In his only match on the first team bench, Falete –as he is known among the fans– left his mark and fielded a very young eleven, with up to six players trained in the blue-and-white youth system. One of them from the reserve team and making his debut in the First Division, Alejandro Santiago, surprised with his energy and poise.

A shot of his, deflected, was the first attempt by the 'periquitos', who, well organized and looking to do damage on the counterattack, initially held their rival very well. Where the legs of Bauza, the other major novelty, or the assertiveness of Drkusic could not reach, the arms of Fortuño, whom Manolo granted the starting position in goal, reached. It was his last great service to the club.

Good news for Eder Sarabia

Roberto touched very few balls and one of them ended in a goal after a great assist from Javi Hernández. The referee disallowed the 0-1 due to a prior foul at the beginning of the second half, but the intricate action, initiated with a pass into space by Omar El Hilali, confirmed that this team knows how to play football much better than it has shown lately. And that is great news, perhaps the best of the match, for Eder Sarabia, a coach with a brave and non-negotiable style of play.

The visitors' good performance was rewarded shortly after, when Cabrera connected with a great cross from Bryan Zaragoza to score. The television cameras immediately focused on the celebration on the bench of Sergio García and in the box on Sarabia, his two coaches.

Falete did not back down and gave a debut to another youngster from the academy, Jan Peries. Without suffering, the parakeets maintained the victory, confirming that the change of coach has had an effect: in three days they have gone from losing on a Segunda RFEF pitch to winning on a Champions League one.