Spanish Glory: An RCD Espanyol Story | Presented by BigJDotCom

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LA LIGA MATCHDAY 16

vs.

RCD ESPANYOL 2:3 REAL BETIS
RCDE Stadium (Capacity: 40,500)


Lionel Messi celebrates another Barcelona victory over Espanyol.

SCORING:
33' - (ESP) - E. Boateng
42' - (BET) - S. Leon
45' - (BET) - S. Leon
64' - (BET) - T. Inui
90' - (ESP) - L. Baptistao

DISCIPLINE:
80' - (ESP) - R. Rosales (Yellow)
82' - (ESP) - S. Darder (Yellow)

12/16/18
Barcelona, ESP (AP) - RCD Espanyol's home woes continued on Sunday evening as they dropped more points at RCDE Stadium, falling to Real Betis 3-2. Sergio Leon scored twice just before the half and Takashi Inui scored once and assisted on one as Real Betis took three points and sits in a solid third position in La Liga as we approach the halfway mark of the 2018-19 campaign.

Real Betis is having a fantastic start in La Liga this season and is positioning themselves for a Champions League berth. They were just eliminated from the 2018-19 Europa League after the group stage, going (2-0-4).

Espanyol got off to a pretty quick start in this one, dominating the first 35 minutes on the match. Estaban Granero had a great chance in the sixth minute that Joel Robles was able to stop. Carles Alena just missed wide of the left post in the 23rd minute on a free kick from 21 yards out. Espanyol's best early chance came in the 27th minute as Granero blasted a rocket off the inside of the left post. The rebound came to the foot of Emmanuel Boateng, but his shot was somehow stopped by Robles to keep the match scoreless.

Carles Alena teed one up from near the penalty spot in the 32nd minute that Robles was able to deflect over the bar for a corner. On that corner, Alena sent in the cross and Emmanuel Boateng got his head to it, sending it into the far corner of the net to put Espanyol up 1-nil. They outshot Betis 8-1 in the opening 35 minutes.

But the tide of the match turned as the teams approached halftime. Betis' Takashi Inui ran down a ball in the corner, and sent in a cross that Sergio Leon headed in off of the crossbar to level the match. Minutes later, in injury time, Inui sent in another cross that saw Diego Lopez run into defender Naldo as he tried to punch the ball away. The ball popped up short into the air and Sergio Leon was there to head it into the empty net to give Real Betis an improbable 2-1 halftime advantage in a match in which they we being completely dominated.

Emmanuel Boateng would have a great chance to equalize in the 57th minute, but Joel Robles again came up big, getting a hand on the ball to deflect it wide.

Takashi Inui then sealed it in the 64th minute as he got his head onto a cross from Francis, and put it in off of the far post to put Real Betis up 3-1.

Espanyol would have their chances late though. Carles Alena was stopped on a left footer blast just inside the box in the 78th minute. Sergi Darder would setup Leo Baptistao in the 90th minute. Baptistao dribbled to the right side of the box and cracked one into the left side past a helpless Robles to pull Espanyol to within 3-2.

Espanyol outshot Real Betsi 13-8 and held a slight possession advantage. Carles Alena picked up an assist and was named Man of the Match in the loss.

Real Betis improved to (11-1-4, 34 pts) on the campaign and sits just three points back of FC Barcelona. RCD Espanyol fell to (6-4-6, 22 pts) and sits in 9th place. More troubling is that they are just (2-1-5) at home, collecting just seven points out of a possible 24. It does not get any easier either as they will travel to Madrid on Friday night to take on Atletico Madrid (11-3-1, 36 pts) who sit in second position and have allowed a La Liga best 11 goals in 15 matches this campaign.

Matchday 16 Results:
Alaves 1:1 Athletic Bilbao
Elta Vigo 3:1 Leganes
SD Eibar 1:2 Valencia CF
Getafe FC 1:2 Real Sociedad
Real Madrid 4:0 Rayo Vallecano
Real Valledolid 1:1 Atletico Madrid
Levante 0:2 Barcelona
Sevilla 0:1 Girona
Huesca 0:1 Villarreal CF

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2018-19 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE R32 DRAW

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2018-19 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE R16 DRAW

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LA LIGA MATCHDAY 17

vs.

ATLETICO MADRID 0:1 RCD ESPANYOL
Wanda Metropolitano (Capacity: 67,703)


Leo Baptistao put Espanyol up and they made it stick.

SCORING:
55' - (ESP) - L. Baptistao

DISCIPLINE:
18' - (ESP) - E. Granero (Yellow)
48' - (ESP) - M. Roca (Yellow)
69' - (ESP) - C. Alena (Yellow)

12/21/18
Madrid, ESP (AP) - It appears as though the antidote for what ails RCD Espanyol is playing away from home. On Friday night, Espanyol came up with a Herculean effort and came away with full points in a 1-nil victory over Atletico Madrid at a sold out Wanda Metropolitano. Leo Baptistao beat Jan Oblak in the 55th minute to provide the only scoring in the match and Espanyol was able to keep a clean sheet for just the second time this season as they took down second place Atletico.

Atletico Madrid dominated possession and had plenty of great scoring chance in the opening 45 minutes. Antoine Griezmann was just about uncoverable. He had a great chance to put Atletico in front in the 27th minute, but Diego Lopez came up with a big left handed save. Erick Aguirre then sent one over the bar in the 34th minute.

Espanyol's best scoring chance in the opening half came in the waning seconds as Estaban Granero hit one just over the bar. Atletico outshot Espanyol 7-2 in the opening half and held a big possession advantage, something that Espanyol usually leads in.

Just about ten minutes into the second half, Estaban Granero took the ball away in the Atletico half, passed to Carles Alena, who sent a perfect long pass to Leo Baptistao, who was in all alone on Oblak. He hit a solid right foot past Oblak and Espanyol had a stunning 1-nil advantage. Espanyol seemed to gain a ton of confidence from that goal and Pablo Piatti almost doubled their advantage in the 61st minute as he got behind the Atletico defense and hit one just wide on the short side after beating Oblak.

Espanyol then dug in defensively and looked to ride out the final 25 minutes. They kept their shape and did not give up many good scoring chances. Atletico's best opportunity came in the 79th minute when Thomas Lemar got free in the right side of the box and tried to place one in the right corner, but the ball hit the woodwork and bounced harmlessly out of play.

Atletico Madrid's loss was jus their second on the campaign. They outshot Espanyol 12-4 and held a healthy possession advantage, but could not unlock the guests.

Espanyol improved to (7-4-6, 25 pts) as they hit the Christmas break. Atletico Madrid fell to (11-3-2, 36 pts) and dropped to third behind Barcelona and Real Betis. Espanyol returns from the break on January 5th at home against last place CD Leganes.

Matchday 17 Results:
Real Madrid 2:2 Valencia CF
Athletic Bilbao 4:0 Real Valladolid
Barcelona 1:2 Celta Vigo
Real Betis 2:1 SD Eibar
Leganes 3:2 Sevilla
Villarreal 1:3 Real Madrid
Valencia 1:2 Huesca
Rayo Vallecano 1:2 Levante
Girona 3:0 Getafe
Real Sociedad 2:2 Alaves

Midweek:
Real Madrid 2:2 Valencia CF
Atletico Madrid 3:1 Alaves

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LA LIGA: DECEMBER POTM



Barcelona, ESP (AP) - Carles Alena was awarded the La Liga Player of the Month for the month of Decemeber. It was the second straight POTM award for the 20-year-old central midfielder. Espanyol struggled in December, going (1-0-2) against some very tough competition, facing the top three sides in La Liga, but Carles Alena's play stood out.

He was Man of the Match in a home loss to Real Betis and ended the month with two assists. Through 17 match days, he leads La Liga with six assists

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LA LIGA MATCHDAY 18

vs.

RCD ESPANYOL 3:2 CD LEGANES
RCDE Stadium (Capacity: 40,500)


Sean Maguire has a stellar debut, scoring twice in the opening ten minutes.

SCORING:
3' - (LEG) - Loren
6' - (ESP) - S. Maguire
10' - (ESP) - S. Maguire
63' - (ESP) - A. Sanchez
90' - (LEG) - S. Nakajima

DISCIPLINE:
NONE

1/5/19
Barcelona, ESP (AP) - RCD Espanyol's struggles at home continued on Saturday afternoon, but they were able to slip past last place CD Leganes 3-2 to escape with full points in the first game after the Christmas break. Newly acquired Irish striker Sean Maguire had an immediate impact, scoring twice in the opening ten minutes in his Espanyol debut.

CD Leganes stunned the RCDE Stadium crowd early on as Loren headed home a cross from Alexander Szymanowski in the third minute to take a 1-nil lead.

Carles Alena made a perfect short pass to Sean Maguire in the box. He one timed the ball into the top right corner in the 6th minute to level the match. Four minutes later, Espanyol sent a long ball into the corner and Angel Sanchez centered a ball that Sean Maguire one-timed with his left foot past Ivan Cuellar to give Espanyol the lead.

Espanyol, playing mainly second choice players, did not dominate this game as was expected. Leganes carried play and had some great chances. In the 34th minute, Lisandro Magallan got free in the box and headed one just over the bar. Edu Frias made a big save on Loren in the 45th minute to keep Espanyol in the lead heading into the half.

Espanyol would extend their lead in the 63rd minute as Marc Rosa setup Angel Sanchez in the box and Sanchez calmly beat Cuellar to put Espanyol up 3-1.

Alexander Szymanowski headed one over the bar in the 70th minute after some sloppy marking on the back end by Espanyol. That sloppiness resulted in a second Leganes goal in the 90th minute. Shoya Nakajima split the defense and found the back of the net to cut the Espanyol to 3-2 in the dying moments.

CD Leganes outshot Espanyol 14-8, but could got find an equalizer. The win was just Espanyol's third home win on the year, but they improved to (8-4-6, 28 pts) overall and moved up into 7th spot in La Liga. Leganes fell to (2-5-11, 11 pts) and remains in 20th place, five points behind Real Valladolid and seven points from safety.

Espanyol now heads north for two games in the Basque Autonomous Community against Real Sociedad on Sunday and SD Eibar next Saturday.

Matchday 18 Results:
Alaves 0:0 Valencia CF
SD Eibar 0:1 Villarreal
Real Madrid 1:0 Real Sociedad
Celta Vigo 1:1 Athletic Bilbao
Sevilla 1:0 Atletico Madrid
Getafe 1:1 FC Barcelona
Huesca 2:0 Real Betis
Levante 1:2 Girona
Real Valladolid 1:0 Rayo Vallecano

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LA LIGA MATCHDAY 19

vs.

REAL SOCIEDAD 1:2 RCD ESPANYOL
Anoeta (Capacity: 25,000)


Emmanuel Boateng scored twice as Espanyol won again.

SCORING:
19' - (ESP) - E. Boateng
61' - (SOC) - Willian Jose
67' - (ESP) - E. Boateng

DISCIPLINE:
37' - (SOC) - E. Sala (Yellow)

1/13/19
San Sebastian, ESP (AP) - RCD Espanyol won their third straight match for the first time this season on Sunday evening with a 2-1 victory on the road over Real Sociedad. Emmanuel Boateng scored twice as Espanyol moved back into a Europa League spot as the La Liga season reaches the halfway mark.

Real Sociedad had a couple of great chances to take the lead early on. Mikel Oyarzabel sent in a cross that Adnan Januzaj headed just wide in the ninth minute. Oyazabel sent in another cross minutes later that Willian Jose volleyed off of the woodwork, but the game remained scoreless.

In the 19th minute, Carles Alena made a slick pass to Sergi Darder, who cut back, then slipped the ball into Emmanuel Boateng. Boateng placed it into the right corner of the net to give Espanyol the 1-nil lead.

Boateng would return the favor with a gorgeous pass to Darder in the 28th minute, but Darder's shot was somehow kept out by Sociedad keeper Geronimo Rulli. Minutes later, Darder setup Mario Hermoso near the top of the box, but his left footed shot sailed wide left. Espanyol took a 1-nil lead into halftime and was outshot 7-6, but Sociedad had just one on target and it was not a quality chance.

Estaban Granero took a beautiful pass from Sergi Darder in the 56th minute, dribbled into the box and floated one that was just tipped over the bar by Rulli. Darder had a great game, recording an assist and putting players in position to make plays all evening.

Real Sociedad would finally unlock the Espanyol defense in the 61st minute with their first real scoring opportunity and they did not waste it. Willian Jose got his head on a cross from Juanmi, and powered it past Diego Lopez to level the match at 1-1.

Espanyol did not waste any time retaking the lead. Six minutes later, Oscar Melendo sent a long ball down the flank to Pablo Piatti. He dribbled to the touch line in the penalty area, drew two defenders, then floated a perfect ball to Emmanuel Boateng to tap home to give Espanyol the 2-1 lead.

Espanyol would then lock it down defensively to finish off their third consecutive win. Real Sociedad would outshoot Espanyol 10-9, but only had two on target for the match, with possession being about equal.

Espanyol (9-4-6, 31 pts) will travel to Eibar on Saturday to take on SD Eibar (5-5-9, 20 pts). Espanyol won the first meeting back in September 3-2 at RCDE Stadium.

Matchday 19 Results:
Athletic Bilbao 1:2 Sevilla
Atletico Madrid 3:1 Levante
Barcelona 4:0 SD Eibar
Real Betis 0:1 Real Madrid
Valencia CF 4:1 Real Valladolid
Villarreal 1:1 Getafe