Vinícius prolongs Madrid's agony and leaves Espanyol without oxygen

Cornellá de LlobregatNeither playing well nor playing badly. Espanyol no longer knows what to do to end the curse that has been pursuing them since the end of last year. Against a Real Madrid at half-speed, they lost again (0-2), preventing Barça from being crowned League champions last night and prolonging their agony, which could end in Sunday's Clásico. Two great goals from Vinícius were to blame. 17 winless games and six points out of 51 condemn them to fight until the end for a survival that seemed secured four months ago. Espanyol is running out of steam, and could end the matchday three points from the relegation zone. Next Saturday, they visit Sevilla in a duel that could sink them definitively.

And yet it seemed like Madrid was coming to Barcelona on vacation. Like top scorer Kylian Mbappé, who is on the island of Sardinia with his partner. Initially, his teammates were largely outplayed by an Espanyol that soon threatened the goal with two off-target shots from Rubén Sánchez and Roberto, both new additions to the starting lineup. Arbeloa, who had seven absences, did not leave any of the available starters on the bench.

Vinícius, always a protagonist

Little by little, logic prevailed and the white and blues took a step back to protect themselves from the white dangers. Vinícius, with a shot across the post, made it clear that he was not there to stroll. The Brazilian, heckled by Cornellà-El Prat, also played a starring role by forcing the expulsion of Omar El Hilali for an alleged aggression that only Gil Manzano saw, who ended up rectifying after consulting with VAR. The designation of the man from Extremadura, accomplice in Espanyol's last relegation, had already stirred up dust in the run-up to a do-or-die match for the white and blues.

The scare did not disrupt the good game of the 'periquitos', less anxious and with more clarity than against Levante, and they almost scored in the last action of the first half. Lunin, with a handball save on Cabrera, frustrated the cry of joy of the 30,000 'periquitos' who saw Vinícius celebrate the 0-1 in their faces with rage just after the break. A great goal from the Brazilian, who, with a one-two with Gonzalo, got rid of the entire local defense and beat Dmitrovic with a low, hard shot.

Terrats shot wide and Vini repeated ten minutes later. This time his partner was Bellingham and the South American star placed the ball into the Serbian goalkeeper's top corner. Nothing to be done for the 'periquitos', unable to recover from such a hard blow and forced to pray that Sevilla does not win this Monday. If they do, Espanyol could end the week in the relegation zone.