A rose with thorns: Espanyol bleeds in Vallecas

BarcelonaAs is customary every April 23rd, Espanyol gave blue roses to all the female members who visited their stand on Rambla Catalunya. Also in Madrid, to the 'periquitos' fans who traveled to Vallecas, where the Catalan team played with the senyera and a rose on their chest.senyera and a rose on their chest. What they did not gift them is a victory, essential to ward off the specter of relegation after, as of now, 15 consecutive games without winning.

A rival full of casualties

Manolo González's lineup in Vallecas was a statement of intent. The Galician started with a double strike force formed by Kike García and Roberto Fernández and a third forward, Pere Milla, on the left wing. With Urko González, suspended, and facing a Rayo side laden with defensive absences - three of their center-backs were out - the blue-and-white coach sought direct football to damage the rival's unseasoned defense. In midfield, Edu Expósito was present, who came very close to scoring the first with a very distant shot that made the egarense Dani Cárdenas, Batalla's substitute between the posts, shine. It would have been one of the goals of the season.

With a much less aesthetic finish, almost futsal-like, from a standing start, Roberto again narrowly missed a goal. Little by little, Rayo's defensive seams began to show, relying on some brilliance from Isi Palazón between the lines to trouble Marko Dmitrovic's goal, who was practically unnoticed during the first half hour. The blue-and-white's inaccuracies and the excess of long balls that Roberto and Kike couldn't win reignited the home side, even more in need of points than Espanyol. The Madrid team, who will play in the Conference League semi-finals next week, started the match with only a two-point cushion above the relegation zone.

Manolo did not like the turn the match was taking at all and was grateful that his team reached halftime with the score tied, which was provisional in Vallecas yesterday due to technical problems. Alemão, with a header from a Ratiu cross, had been on the verge of opening the scoring. To try and fix it, the Galician coach brought on Charles Pickle for Pol Lozano, who had been booked. The start of the second half was delayed by another setback: there was a hole in the net. Cárdenas fixed it with duct tape. Things happen in Vallecas.

The Espanyol curse

The breakdown did not distract Isi Palazón, who right at the start of the second half connected a header that Dmitrovic deflected with a great save. The Serbian, who once again was holding up the 'periquitos', also saved Alemão's goal, this time with his foot. And from one goal to another, because in the continuation of the action the referee signaled a penalty in favor of the 'blanquiazules' for a handball inside the area by Valentín. There was a quarter of an hour left and it was the opportunity Espanyol was looking for to break their bad streak. But, Cárdenas, Terrassa's substitute goalkeeper, turned hero, saved Kike García's shot. The 'periquitos' cannot score even from a penalty, nor with a header at will inside the small box that Pere Milla sent wide a minute later.

They paid for it dearly because at 87' Camello did score. Taking advantage of a serious defensive error by the 'blanquiazules', he beat Dmitrovic between the legs, complicating, and a lot, the life of an Espanyol that is on the decline and will play against Levante with relegation getting closer and closer. The stunned faces of the footballers on the pitch and the tears of the visiting fans in the Vallecas stands confirm the magnitude of the tragedy. The rose they had been given had many thorns.