Villarreal vs. Espanyol: Leandro Cabrera Goal Gives Espanyol 1-0 Win in First Game After Coach's Firing

Espanyol picked a strange week to snap out of its slump. Days after firing coach Manolo González, the Barcelona club won 1-0 at Villarreal on Friday, Oct. 30, in La Liga Matchday 11. Veteran defender Leandro Cabrera scored the only goal just after the hour mark at Estadio de la Cerámica.

Villarreal vs. Espanyol: how the game was won

Villarreal had more of the ball, with about 63% possession and 14 shots to Espanyol’s five, according to FotMob. But Marca’s live report described a home side with “few ideas,” and Espanyol defended deep and well.

Espanyol thought it had scored first in the 49th minute when Roberto Fernández finished a cross from Javi Hernández. A VAR review ruled it out for a foul, after Fernández was seen grabbing defender Pau Navarro before the shot, Marca reported.

The winner came in the 60th minute. Bryan Zaragoza sent in a cross from the flank and Cabrera, playing more like a center forward in the moment, finished it. “It was a free kick and I was kind of fishing around, and luckily it fell to me, I hit it and it went in,” Cabrera told reporters afterward, according to Marca (translated from Spanish).

Villarreal pushed late. Goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi even went up for a final corner, and Georges Mikautadze went down in the box at the end, but the referee waved play on and blew the final whistle. Espanyol goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño, who made a strong save on an acrobatic Mikautadze shot earlier in the second half, was FotMob’s player of the match.

A coaching change on the Espanyol bench

The win came in unusual circumstances. Espanyol fired Manolo González after a Copa del Rey exit against lower-division Sestao, Marca reported. Sporting director Monchi said firing a coach “is never pleasant” and that he felt responsible for the situation.

The club has named Eder Sarabia as the new coach, but he was serving a one-match suspension, so reserve-team coach Sergio García ran the team for the night while Sarabia watched from a box. García gave starts to youth player Alejandro Santiago and called up four reserve-team players.

Cabrera described an emotional week. “We had to overcome Manolo’s dismissal,” he said, per Marca, adding that the squad handled “a lot of pent-up anger” well.

Villarreal CF vs. Espanyol standings

Before kickoff, LaLiga’s official match page listed Villarreal 10th with 12 points from 10 games and Espanyol 18th, in the relegation zone, with 8 points. The three points take Espanyol to 11, and Cabrera said the goal was about “getting points and getting out of the red zone.” Exactly where both teams land will depend on the rest of the weekend’s results.

For Villarreal, coached by Iñigo Pérez, it was a frustrating home loss after a run that included wins at Valencia and Manacor. Pérez had said before the game that his team needed to make La Cerámica “a difficult place” to play. Defender Pau Navarro said afterward that “we can’t have the stadium emptying at the 75th minute,” according to Marca.

Gerard Moreno injury ahead of PSG

Villarreal’s bigger worry may be its captain. Gerard Moreno left with an injury in the 18th minute and was replaced by Nicolas Pépé. Marca reported that he is awaiting tests and is likely to miss the upcoming Champions League home game against Paris Saint-Germain. Juan Foyth was also absent and is doubtful for that match, per the same report.

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