Pickel and the referee again condemn Espanyol in Mallorca

BarcelonaEven Dmitrovic, who delivered one of his best performances in a Espanyol shirt, couldn't secure their first win of the year. Although they've deserved it for weeks, the Pericos haven't won in 83 days, eleven matchdays. Today they lost again (2-1), largely because they were reduced to ten men at the start of the second half when Pickel, who scored the opening goal, was sent off for a very harsh and unnecessary tackle in midfield. And because referee De Burgos Bengoetxea allowed a clearly illegal goal by Pablo Torre, preceded by a foul on Urko González. Samu Costa completed the comeback late in the game. It's the second consecutive year of controversial refereeing decisions at Son Moix for the Pericos, who have had everything go against them since the start of the year.

Manolo González's main dilemma was in midfield; deciding between Edu Expósito, returning from suspension, and Ramon Terrats, after his great performance Monday. Finally, the Galician has opted for both, with the one from Cubelles Behind Kike García and the Barcelona native on the left side of the Espanyol attack. Charles Pickel, both angel and devil at Son Moix, partnered Urko González in the double pivot, while Riedel anchored the defense, keeping a close eye on Coto Muriqi, who has scored 18 league goals. Only Mbappé has netted more.

Dmitrovic saves Espanyol

Sergi Darder was a substitute, and Morlanes, one of the many former Espanyol players on the new Mallorca manager Martín Demichelis's team, who played 98 minutes in the blue and white shirt 10 years ago, livened up a very dull start to the match with a weak shot straight at Marko Dmitrovic. It was the prelude to a miraculous triple save by the Serbian, one of the highlights of the season: on the goal line, the Espanyol goalkeeper stopped three shots from inside the six-yard box, two from Mateo Joseph and one from Valjent; he stopped one with his foot, another with his body, and the last with his hand. They were just going to happen, Mallorca fans think.

The game became frantic, and Espanyol responded with a header from Kike García, who had a goal disallowed a few minutes earlier, which Leo Román saved. The Balearic goalkeeper, whom Garagarza inquired about in the summer – ultimately signing Dmitrovic instead – also saved the subsequent shot from the striker from Cuenca, but could do nothing about Pickel's low, soft shot, which capitalized on a good pass from Tyrhys Dolan to put the visitors ahead. It was the Congolese player's first goal in the blue and white shirt, and he was the star of the afternoon.

A new controversy at Son Moix

Ten minutes into the second half, Pickel made a very hard tackle on Mascarell's ankle, which De Burgos Bengoetxea, after consulting VAR, punished with a straight red card. The midfielder is a frequent suspect, having already been sent off in Elche in his last appearance. Espanyol were facing a long stretch with ten men. Too long, in fact, because shortly afterward they conceded an equalizer from a Pablo Torre shot that deflected off Miguel Rubio and trickled in. Clearly, in the immediately preceding play, Samu Costa had kicked Urko González's leg, which is why the referee consulted VAR. But De Burgos Bengoetxea, who had seen it very close up, refused to change his mind and allowed the goal after reviewing the footage for a considerable time. Second scandal in a row At Son Moix for Espanyol. "The criteria always go against Espanyol, our players have said enough, everyone saw what was happening before Mallorca's first goal," said Xavi Andreu, the club's spokesperson, after a match where the Catalan players declined to comment.

Despite the blow to morale against a Mallorca side in the relegation zone and desperately needing points, Espanyol held on as long as they could. They held on until the 88th minute, when Darder found Samu Costa between the lines, who fired past Dmitrovic after a defensive lapse by the home side, who were unable to recover. This marks the eleventh consecutive match without a win for the Pericos, who have accumulated four points out of a possible 33, but still have an eleven-point cushion above the relegation zone.