Espanyol extended their unbeaten run against Mallorca in a five-goal thriller on Monday night at the RCDE Stadium—a contest that proved far more nerve-wracking for home supporters than they might have preferred.
The opening stages passed without major incident, though Espanyol appeared more assured, both buoyed by their home crowd and freed from the pressure weighing on their opponents. Clear-cut opportunities were scarce until midway through the first half, when Pere Milla slipped away from Marash Kumbulla inside the box and calmly finished at the near post after meeting Carlos Romero’s cross from the left.
Ten minutes before the break, Espanyol tightened their grip on proceedings. Tyrhys Dolan’s delivery caught Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Román off guard, allowing Roberto Fernández to bundle the ball into an empty net.
Just as Los Bermellones seemed to be building momentum, Jagoba Arrasate’s half-time talk threatened to turn into a daunting task—until a lifeline arrived. Omar El Hilali fouled Mateo Joseph at a set piece, handing Vedat Muriqi the chance to wrong-foot Marko Dmitrović from the spot. The penalty, converted in the final minute of the half, narrowed the deficit, though Espanyol’s control was soon compromised when Milla was shown a red card in stoppage time for dissent, tilting the balance back toward the visitors.
Mallorca, with defender Kumbulla off and winger Jan Virgili on, forced two early saves from Dmitrovic courtesy of shots from Muriqi and Joseph, an early sign of intent. Now a man up, Mallorca began to apply significant pressure, and Muriqi made it pay with his second, beating El-Hilali in the air to head back across goal and in off the post.
Manolo Gonzalez’s side were not done either, with Dolan still making inroads on the break. An Espanyol corner was headed off the bar from Leandro Cabrera too, as Los Pericos did their best to escape that pressure. For the final 15 minutes their charge was led by Kike Garcia, and when his pass from left found Dolan, Antonio Raillo couldn’t resist giving him a shove on his way. Garcia made the resulting penalty count, squeezing it under Roman to give Los Pericos a late and dramatic lead with 10 minutes remaining.
There was still time for Muriqi to fire wide a late hat-trick opportunity, but it was the safe hands of Dmitrovic and the ambition with 10-men that won it for Espanyol in the second half. Manolo Gonzalez will be relieved having had to line up what would have been a furious tirade had they dropped points from two goals up. His side sit third, on ten points and level with Barcelona, ahead of a trip to league leaders Real Madrid.
Arrasate’s problems multiply. It looked as if Mallorca may have a turning point to build on after Muriqi’s second, but having given up their comeback in relatively tame fashion, the errors of recent weeks remain at the forefront of the mind. Los Bermellones remain with just a point from their opening four games in 19th.
