Everything was happiness on December 31 after the victory against Valencia. Espanyol finally broke their jinx away from the RCDE Stadium, placed two points behind eighth (Villarreal) and was still alive in the Copa del Rey. But the dreams faded week by week. 2022 has only offered Vicente Moreno’s team one victory, on penalties against Ponferradina to advance to the round of 16 of the Cup. Slip in Mallorca and fall in LaLiga, where the streak extends to one point out of 12 possible. The season is already greyish.
The “thin line” that separates victory from defeat, to which the coach refers in most press conferences, has thickened in recent weeks, the parakeet team being the victim of ills that recur like a chronic disease. The Blue and Whites are not capable of remedying it. That thin line goes beyond a missed penalty or a shot at the postfrom a save by Raúl de Tomás in the 94th minute in Cádiz or from a centimeter that exceeds the legal offside in Sancet’s goal.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of February 8, 2022
From concrete to cardboard: 24 goals conceded in 12 games
In the first 15 championship matches, Espanyol only conceded 14 goals. The defensive system worked and Vicente Moreno’s team managed to keep a clean sheet in six gamesthere was even talk of the second youth of Diego López, a savior where parakeet defenses were not enough, even Leandro Cabrera and Sergi Gómez became a consolidated couple in the center of the defense.
But one piece of information was suspicious. Diego López was the goalkeeper with the most stops made in the championship and the shots made by the rivals placed the parakeet team as one of the teams that generated the most chances. The thin line fell on the other side. In the last 12 games, the Blue and Whites have received 24 goals, an average of 2 per game when before it was 0.95. Individual performance has dropped, as a result of lack of confidence and collective problems. All defenders have appeared in goal photos in this 70-day period.
More goals, but less control of the game
Having the ball is not taking the initiative in the game. And an example is Espanyol, who in that first stage of the championship were able to control the situation from their extraordinary defensive position, without needing to have possession. Something that has not happened in recent days. Hesitant when he takes a step back, vulnerable in the pressure in the rival field and very forced with the ball, it is difficult for him to generate occasions from the collective.
Some data have been drawing attention throughout the course, such as the low precision of laterals and extremes in the centers (after the match against Elche they were the 17th most imprecise team), something that could also be seen in San Mamés where another fact that stood out: Puado provided the assistance starting from the right, a position he never occupies; while the other accurate centerer was Tonny Vilhena, debutant. Óscar Gil, Adrián Embarba and Adrià Pedrosa did not find an auctioneer.
That is why the Blue and Whites, who have also lost their effectiveness at set pieces and lack play inside, have a hard time attacking judiciously. Only the first part in Cádiz, where Vicente Moreno already calls it “situations that rarely occur”, saved from that mess. Chaotic second parts like Levante (4-3) or San Mamés (2-1) are an example of the blue and white disorder and the lack of ideas with the ball.
2-1 Athletic-Espanyol Minute 30.
Espanyol (4,066) and Athletic (3,891) are the teams with the most goals against in Primera history.
– Pedro Martin (@pedritonumeros) February 7, 2022
An individual performance questioned
As football is a whole, where each piece determines the performance of the next, where the value of the collective enhances or diminishes individual virtues, there are players who have not appeared this season, either as a result of their lack of adaptation to the Espanyol game or by that thin line that has made them lose confidence. Adrián Embarba, Nany Dimata, Loren Morón, Yangel Herrera or Wu Lei were an example on Monday.
Espanyol did not find revulsive on the bench and the changes caused chaos, as happened against Betis. Whether due to the eclipse of RdT, due to the inability to find a space for them in the starting team or due to their lack of level, Espanyol lacks this campaign of companions in attack, of second options that guarantee goals on the few occasions that Moreno’s generate. Another thin line, in this case red, like the alert that is beginning to appear due to the team’s performance and the immediate calendar.
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