Espanyol had come from behind to rescue draws in both of their last two outings, but the hosts were certainly having the better of the play in the first half. Despite that, the hosts were only able to muster a single shot on target before the break, highlighting their lack of potency here. One of their better moments came through Sergi Darder who arrived late into the box to unleash a volley, but his effort was crucially deflected wide.
The Parakeets’ were nearly made to pay for their wastefulness before HT as Valladolid looked to strike on the counter. Kike won the ball and immediately drove forward, eventually feeding Sergio León through on goal, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Benjamin Lecomte.
A desperate lack of quality clouded the contest, with Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip remaining little more than a spectator for the majority of the game. The Spaniard was forced into action to comfortably thwart another Darder drive, but Diego Martínez’s men looked short of ideas in a game they had largely controlled.
Espanyol’s main source of goals of late has been Joselu, and he stepped up again to break the deadlock. Brian Oliván’s cross from the left was inch-perfect to be powered home by Joselu, netting his fifth goal in as many La Liga appearances. Moments later, Javi Puado spurned a huge chance to seal the points when his attempted chip was denied by the post.
Joselu’s header proved decisive and rocketed Espanyol up the table, jumping five places as they moved two points clear of the relegation zone. One of the teams they leapfrogged was Valladolid, who fell well short in their efforts of winning a third consecutive H2H for the first time since 1963.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Brian Oliván (Espanyol)
