Espanyol fail to make pressure pay against Real Oviedo as winless run continues | OneFootball

Espanyol 1-1 Real Oviedo

Espanyol continued their winless run on Monday night against Real Oviedo at the RCDE Stadium, sharing the points with Real Oviedo. As the malaise impacting both sides continues, it was a result that did little for either side.

The visitors started off far better, taking just eight minutes to get themselves on the scoresheet. After excellent work on the left side from Villarreal loanee Thiago Fernandez, beating two defenders inside the box, he saw his cutback blocked. Reacting fastest, he got to the loose ball and pulled it back from the by-line to give Alberto Reina an easy finish from the middle of the box.

The celebrations were short-lived for Oviedo though, as Espanyol began a long assault on their goal. Carlos Romero, Espanyol’s most dangerous player on the night, fired narrowly wide twice from the left, before Tyrhys Dolan brought the first save of note from Aaron Escandell – two teammates screaming for the ball in the middle.

It was Cyril Ngonge from Dolan’s usual spot on the right wing who instigated the equaliser though, escaping the defence on the flank. His ball across, behind the defenders racing back into position, took the Oviedo backline by surprise, but Kike Garcia did anticipate the slower pace of pass, and stepped onto the ball from the middle of the box to finish low and hard. Before half-time, Oviedo face renewed pressure, as Dolan had another good chance.

Lack of cutting edge costs Espanyol victory

Based on the statistics and flow of the game, Espanyol looked guaranteed to eventually pick apart the Oviedo defence in the second period. Guillermo Almada did manage to stem the flow of attacks somewhat though, and Espanyol were finding it hard to get clear sights at goal. By the same token, Oviedo’s ambition seemed to wane with the second half too, as their attacking threat was conspicuous by absence in the second period.

In total, Escandell would face 28 Espanyol shots, and 10 of them were on target, meaning the Oviedo goalkeeper was a strong contender for man of the match. Yet on reflection, Escandell will probably feel the stops he made in the second half were well within in his capabilities.

If Oviedo did pick up a point against a top-half side, what rebelliousness Almada had inspired in recent months appears to be ebbing away, as is their first division status. Safety remains eight points away with 11 games to go, and their 17 goals are the lowest total in the division by eight.

For the first time in seven matches, Espanyol managed not to concede more than once in a game, but that was not enough to prevent their winless run in 2026 bringing up double figures. Manolo Gonzalez’s side are still just three points from Europe in 7th spot, following their sensational first half of the season, but he will be abundantly aware that such lengthy periods searching for momentum as well as a win is not healthy.