Racing de Santander makes Manolo González wobble

BarcelonaManolo González is against the ropes. The Espanyol manager faced the visit to Racing de Santander with the need for a reaction that did not arrive and left the Sardinero even more weakened. Not even a highly controversial decision by Gil Manzano, a referee with a dismal record for the 'periquitos', can hide an increasingly difficult reality: the team is not getting going and its coach's margin is running out.

Edu Expósito's opening goal and Fortuño's saves fueled the Galician coach's hopes, but the reaction of Racing de Santander, a rival in the fight for survival, could sentence him. With the defeat at the Sardinero (2-1), Espanyol falls into the relegation zone for the first time since January 2025. They have only 8 points in ten matchdays and 21 out of 94 in 2026. This year, the 'periquitos' have only won four matches and the feeling is that Manolo cannot find the formula to turn around a situation that is starting to be irreversible.

Once again Gil Manzano

The first premise was to demonstrate that the team is alive and that, despite the setbacks, it still knows how to compete. Only in this way would it be capable of leveling the playing field against Racing de Santander, a direct rival in the fight for survival. The Cantabrians have achieved all their points as hosts and have become accustomed to sweeping away their rivals from the very beginning; hence why the 'periquitos' started the match so focused and intense, matching the local push. Mind you, as for approaches to the goal of Julen Agirrezabala, the most scored-against goalkeeper in the First Division, there were very few.

Angel Fortuño, already consolidated as a starter between the sticks, certainly had work to do. Precisely Canales, the most differential footballer for the hosts, forced him to make a handball-style save with his foot, in a spectacular stop, to prevent Racing's goal at the half-hour mark. The first time Espanyol approached the rival area with real danger, Gil Manzano took it upon himself to frustrate the attempt. Manolo González was furious to see that the referee who contributed to Espanyol's last relegation, after consulting with the VAR, did not call a penalty for a very clear handball by Pablo Ramón because he saw a foul in a dispute involving Roberto Fernández and his marker.

The decision, more than debatable, broke the game. Racing took definitive control of the ball and the chances, and Espanyol entrusted themselves to Fortuño, who with his saves pushed the blue-and-whites, who found the goal precisely after a great save by the goalkeeper from La Verneda. Bryan Zaragoza accelerated the play and Javi Hernández provided the assist, with a pass back to Expósito, the author of the 0-1. But during the celebration, the television cameras focused on Fortuño.

Fortuño is not enough

But it is well known that joy does not last long in a poor man's house and six minutes later a long-range shot from Belocian, apparently harmless, tied the game. Fortuño could not prevent Zabiri's goal either, in the 84th minute. The Moroccan forward took advantage of a scramble inside the blue-and-white area to turn the score around and greatly complicate the future of Manolo González and that of Espanyol, which almost two years later falls back into the relegation zone.