At Cornellà-El Prat, an evening meant to mark Manolo’s 100th match in charge of Espanyol instead brought a damaging 3-1 defeat to bottom-side Elche, who claimed their first victory of the season despite playing more than 80 minutes with ten men.
The news from the club
Espanyol had reshaped half of the starting side after the 2-1 loss at Butarque against Rayo. Academy player José Ángel made his debut in place of suspended Omar, while Bryan Zaragoza was handed his first start. Unai Núñez, Expósito and Calatrava also returned to the line-up.
Elche coach Anselmi kept faith with goalkeeper Dituro despite his difficult start to the campaign. His side’s task appeared to become much harder before four minutes had passed, when Redondo was dismissed following a VAR review for pulling back Bryan as the last defender.
Expósito nearly turned the numerical advantage into an immediate goal, his free-kick from the edge of the area passing narrowly over the bar. Yet the hosts, watched by 26,616 supporters, failed to establish control.
Instead, Elche struck midway through the first half. Fer Niño pounced on a serious misunderstanding between Núñez and Dmitrovic, who had come off his line, to finish into an empty net for his fourth goal of the campaign. Three minutes later, Niño completed his fifth of the season, meeting Revivo’s delivery to the far post with a fine volley.
Espanyol thought they had found a route back before the interval when Bryan scored, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Manolo introduced Hartman and Marcos after the break, although Elche continued to look the more assured team despite their reduced numbers.
In the 55th minute, Cepeda hit the post with a shot that Núñez diverted just enough to prevent a third Elche goal. The visitors gradually dropped deeper as the match went on, but Espanyol’s hope arrived only briefly in the 72nd minute. Chust accidentally turned Javi Hernández’s cross from the left into his own net.
Elche restored their two-goal margin close to the 80th minute. Valera carried the ball from deep inside his own half before lifting a composed finish over Dmitrovic to settle the score at 1-3.
An international break for Espanyol to consider
The defeat leaves Espanyol facing the international pause after another poor home performance, this time against a side that had arrived at the RCDE Stadium at the foot of the table. For Manolo, whose milestone was recognised before kick-off, the break is likely to bring renewed scrutiny around his position and the direction of the team.
