Verde dashes Espanyol’s hopes of going top with late strike
Rubi’s team put in a confident performance against Valladolid, who also had the chance to provisionally knock Barcelona off top spot in the table.
Espanyol had looked set to sleep soundly tonight after spending most of tonight’s meeting with Valladolid in front thanks to Borja Iglesias’ wonderful strike on 19 minutes. They were just moments away from posting their sixth victory so far this season - one which would have put them two points clear as provisional leaders in LaLiga, ahead of their city rivals Barcelona.
Late free-kick ruins Pericos' night
The Pericos can count the amount of times they have occupied the summit in Spain’s top division on the fingers of both hands – it would have been their ninth stay at the top had Daniele Verde not hauled the home team back with a stoppage-time free-kick which was equally as sensational as Borja’s opener had been over an hour earlier.
So it ended 1-1 on the whistle: Rubi’s players might not be sleeping as blissfully as they’d hoped, but the team is still provisionally top, level on points with Barça – 18 while Valladolid have sidled up alongside Atlético and Sevilla to complete the European berths, all on 16 points with Real Madrid in seventh ahead of Sunday’s Clásico.
🔊 FINAL AL JOSÉ ZORRILA@realvalladolid 1-1 @RCDEspanyol
— RCD Espanyol (@RCDEspanyol) 26 October 2018
⚽️ @BorjaIglesias9 (19')
⚽️ Verde (91')#RCDE | #RealValladolidEspanyol pic.twitter.com/56F4No2O7Q