First Division - Day 26

Sporting Gijón 2 - Espanyol 4

Sporting: Cuéllar; Vranjes, Luis Hernández, Jorge Meré, Isma López; Carmona (Halilovic 56’), Omar Macarell (Nacho Cases 72‘), Rachid, Jony; Sanabria (Lora 86’), Carlos Castro. 4-4-2.
Espanyol: Pau López; Javi López, Alvaro González, Oscar Duarte, Víctor Alvarez; Víctor Sánchez (Enzo Roco 71’), Pape Diop, Abraham; Marco Asensio, Gerard Moreno (Salva Sevilla 88’), Burgui (Hernán Pérez 65’). 4-3-3.

Goals:
1-0. 20. Carlos Castro. Fired shot into net after Pau López pushed out Isma cross.
1-1. 41. Burgui. Cut across past three defenders and struck shot wide of Cuéllar.
1-2. 48. Gerard Moreno. Got on end of Javi López cross to turn ball in on far post.
1-3. 58. Gerard Moreno. Cut in from right of area and curled shot wide of keeper.
2-3. 62. Carlos Castro. Steered header back past keeper from long Jony centre.
2-4. 80. Luis Hernández (own goal). Deflected Marco Asensio cross in to own net.

Yellow cards: Omar Mascarell 14’, Javi López 16’, Jorge Meré 35’, Carlos Castro 65’, Isma López 77’, Sanabria 81’, Oscar Duarte 87’ / red cards: Nacho Cases 82’.

Sporting Gijón drop back below Las Palmas into the relegation spots after a 2-4 defeat against Espanyol on Saturday evening. Carlos Castro did put the Asturians in front in the twentieth minute after Pau López could only palm away a cross from Isma López, but the visitors wasted a couple of chances before Burgui cut across the area to level the scores on the stroke of half time. After the restart Gerard Moreno added two more in the opening twelve minutes the first from a Javi López cross, and the second with an individualist run before curling a shot wide of Cuéllar. Castro pulled another one back for the locals though with a header from Jony’s centre, and for a few minutes there was hope of an epic comeback, Sanabria and Rachid hitting the bar, and Pau López having to save from Sanabria and others. However with ten minutes to go a long run by Marco Asensio ended with Luis Hernández putting through his own net, and a couple of minutes later it as all over when substitute Nacho Cases was sent off for a late tackle on Asensio.