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

Rayo Vallecano hosted Espanyol in the opening match of Matchday 6 in La Liga EA Sports. The match, like all the others the Madrid side have played at home this season, was held 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 picking up their first points away from Cornellà-El Prat.

First half

The match began with plenty of dominance from Rayo. Beñat San José’s men had almost total control of the ball in the opening minutes. And with the first chance of the game came the first goal. After an error from Espanyol on a throw-in, Camello laid it off to Tsitaishvili, who pulled it back for Pedro Díaz, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked by the Espanyol defense. The rebound fell to Álvaro, who, with Dimitrovic beaten, tapped 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 pushing in search of another goal, though without creating many clear chances despite controlling the match.

Little by little, Espanyol recovered from their poor start and began to press and enjoy more possession. The Catalan side, mainly through Hartman, started delivering crosses into the box. In the 19th minute, Bauza had Espanyol’s first shot. The No. 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 former Espanyol academy player thus scored his first goal for the Madrid side, a goal 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 three after a pull-back from Andrei Ratiu. The No. 10’s shot, however, went wide.

Rayo kept dominating until the end of the first half. Beñat San José’s side 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 shot came back off the crossbar.

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

Second half:

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

Even so, the first chance of the second half fell to the home side. In the 54th minute, Camello could have made it three. 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 great angled finish after an excellent feint inside the box. The Andalusian forward thus scored his sixth goal in six matches.

Roberto celebrating while urging on his team. Source: LaLiga.

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

Little by little, though, the match became more and more open and turned into a wild end-to-end contest. Both teams were getting into counterattacking situations, though without producing especially dangerous shots. Espanyol, out of necessity, were sending more balls into the box. The clearest chance fell to Edu Expósito in the 74th minute. His shot, however, went close to Audero’s post.

The final minutes of the match were marked by the game becoming increasingly 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 closing minutes belonged more to Espanyol, who, out of the urgency of needing to equalize, showed more heart than Rayo. When the match already seemed over—and in fact was already over on time—Omar El Hilali made a mistake and was sent off for handball after a rebound while being the last man. That red card, however, had no bearing on the match, as it ended with the free-kick.

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