Rayo Vallecano 2-1 RCD Espanyol: First-half dominance was enough | OneFootball

Rayo Vallecano hosted Espanyol in the opening match of Matchday 6 of the Liga EA Sports season. The match, like all the others the Madrid side have played at home this season, was played at Butarque.A situation that will come to an end for Rayo’s next home game, which will be after the international break. Beñat San José’s side came in unbeaten at home, while Manolo González’s team arrived after earning their first points away from Cornellà-El Prat.

First half

The match began with plenty of domination from Rayo. Beñat San José’s men had almost a monopoly on possession in the opening minutes. In the first chance of the match, the first goal arrived. After an error from Espanyol on a throw-in, Camello laid it off to Tsitaishvili, who pulled it back to Pedro Díaz, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked by the Espanyol defense. The rebound fell to Álvaro, who, with Dimitrovic beaten, finished into an empty net.

Álvaro García celebrating after his goal. Source: LaLiga.

After the goal, Espanyol continued making mistakes on the ball. Rayo, meanwhile, kept pressing in search of another goal, though without creating many dangerous chances despite controlling the game.

Little by little, Espanyol recovered from their poor start and began to press and see more of the ball. The Catalan club, mainly through Hartman, started sending crosses into the box. In the 19th minute, Bauza had Espanyol’s first shot. The number 21 unleashed a thunderous long-range effort that went just wide.

Even so, it was Rayo who, with only their second shot on target, scored the second goal. Adrià Pedrosa played a great one-two with Álvaro García, got to the byline and finished beyond Dimitrovic’s reach. The Espanyol academy product thus scored his first goal for the Madrid side, a strike he chose not to celebrate.

Adri Pedrosa raising his arm after his goal. Source: LaLiga.

After the hydration break, and although Espanyol had a few spells in which they looked better than the side exiled in Leganés, it was Rayo who continued to have overall control of the match. In the 36th minute, Camello could have made it 3-0 after a cutback from Andrei Ratiu. The striped number 10’s shot, however, went wide.

Rayo kept dominating until the end of the first half. Beñat San José’s men caught Espanyol out on more than one occasion with the speed of their play after winning the ball back. In the first minute of stoppage time, the red-and-white side could have killed the game off with a third. Camello met a waist-high cross from Tsitaishvili, but his effort came back off the crossbar.

In the end, the teams went into the break at 2-0, with Rayo far superior to Espanyol.

Second half:

Manolo González, looking to change the game, made three substitutions. Whether because of those changes or because Rayo dropped deeper, Espanyol started the second half with much more possession.

Even so, the first chance of the second half went to the home side. In the 54th minute, Camello could have made it 3-0. Pedro Díaz found him alone inside the box, but his shot deflected off Omar El Hilali.

Still, in keeping with the pattern of the second half, it was Espanyol who scored. It came from Roberto Fernández (who else?), who in the 57th minute made it 2-1 with a fine low shot across goal after a great feint inside the box. The Andalusian thus scored his sixth goal in six matches.

Roberto celebrating as he urged his team on. Source: LaLiga.

After Espanyol’s goal, Manolo González’s side continued to dominate the match. That is why Beñat San José decided to make a double substitution in midfield. Espanyol were pushing for an equalizer.

Little by little, though, the game became more and more open and turned into a frantic end-to-end battle. Both teams were getting counterattacks, though without producing many really dangerous shots. Espanyol, out of necessity, were putting more balls into the box. The clearest chance fell to Edu Expósito in the 74th minute. His shot, however, went just wide of Audero’s post.

The final minutes of the match were marked by the game becoming scrappy. Both teams racked up fouls and yellow cards. Neither side stood out in terms of control.

Isidro Díaz de Mera decided to add six minutes at the end of the match. The final moments belonged more to Espanyol, who, through the urgency of needing an equalizer, played with more heart than Rayo. When the match already seemed over — and in fact, time was already up — Omar El Hilali made a mistake and was sent off for handball after a rebound while being the last man. That red card, however, was not decisive in this match, because the final whistle came after the free kick.

In the end, 2-1. A win for Rayo, who dominated the match in the first half and left Espanyol with too little time to react in the second.

Match details:

Lineups:

Rayo Vallecano: Audero; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mujaid (61', Bouaré), Adri Pedrosa; Pedro Díaz, Pathé Ciss, Unai López (61', Oscar Valentín); Tsitaishvili (76', Fran Pérez), Camello (76', Alemao), Álvaro García (84', Balliu)

Espanyol: Dimitrovic; Omar El Hilali, Riedel, Cabrera, Hinojo (45', Marcos Fernández); Urko (84', Pol Lozano), Moscardo (45', Edu Expósito); Bauza (45', Bryan Zaragoza), Javi Hernández (74', Calatrava), Hartman; Roberto Fernández

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.