The afternoon at Abanca Balaídos began with an image to remember. Under the rain, the Celta fans once again gave a lesson of affection with the first welcome of the season: flares, chants and a sky tinged with light blue and red marked the team’s way to the temple. A magical atmosphere that augured a special evening.
However, the match started with an unexpected setback: Starfelt had to leave the field of play due to injury after just a few minutes, disrupting a backline that had to reorganise itself on the fly. Even so, Claudio Giráldez’s team did not give up and pushed forward with intensity in the early stages. The sky-blue domination, but Espanyol knew how to close with order and conceded very little. In the 28th minute, a defensive lapse allowed Espanyol to take the lead through Roberto Fernández, who subtly deflected a pass from Puado in front of Guaita. A harsh blow after a good start to the game, which ended a first half with more intent than precision on Celta’s part.
The second half started with the sky-blues going on the attack. Pablo Durán tried it, Aspas tried it with a tight shot… but when it seemed that the equaliser was close, Espanyol struck again. Roberto Fernández took advantage of a loose ball after a poor clearance to score the second and final goal. Despite the final attempts, with Fer López in the lead, the ball refused to go in and the score ended 0-2.
Celta fell at home after a good run, but with the certainty of having competed and fought until the end. Now, it’s time to get up and think about the next game in Montjuic against FC Barcelona.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
0 – RC Celta: Guaita, Carreira (WillIot, 72′), Javi Rodríguez (Jailson, 63′), Starfelt (Carlos Domínguez, 14’) Marcos Alonso, Mingueza, F. Beltrán, Sotero (Ilaix Moriba, 46′), Pablo Durán, Aspas (Fer López. 63′) and Alfon.
2 – RCD Espanyol: Joan Garcia, Omar El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Carlos Romero, Urko, Pol Lozano (Král, 46′), Antoniu Roca (Jofre, 64′), Expósito (Pere Milla, 75′), Puado (Calero, 83′) and Roberto Fernández (Cheddira, 83′).
Goals: 0-1, Roberto Fernández (28′); 0-2, Roberto Fernández (63′).
Referee: Busquets Ferrer (Balearic Committee). Yellow card to Pol Lozano (44′), Javi Rodríguez (45’+) and Puado (77′).
Incidents: Match corresponding to Matchday 31 of LALIGA EA SPORTS at Abanca Balaídos in front of 19,801 spectators.
