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Espanyol stun Villarreal 1-0 under interim Sergio García to end six-game winless run

Leandro Cabrera's 60th-minute goal and goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño's heroics gave Espanyol a 1-0 victory at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Friday, with B-team coach Sergio García deputising three days after Manolo González's sacking.

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Espanyol stun Villarreal 1-0 under interim Sergio García to end six-game winless run
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Espanyol ended a six-game winless run in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica on Friday, guided by B-team coach Sergio García after the mid-week dismissal of Manolo González. Leandro Cabrera’s 60th-minute strike and a commanding display from goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño secured the three points against the run of play.

García took charge on an interim basis because newly appointed head coach Eder Sarabia, confirmed on Wednesday 28 October, is serving a two-match touchline suspension and could not take his place in the dugout.

The statistics told a story of Villarreal dominance that the scoreline refused to reflect. The hosts completed 503 accurate passes to Espanyol’s 263, registered 14 shots to the visitors’ five, and generated an expected goals figure of 0.92 against just 0.26 for Espanyol. Fortuño’s performance earned him the match’s top player rating of 8.31.

Espanyol had a goal disallowed through VAR in the 50th minute when Roberto Fernández — who has six La Liga goals this season — was ruled to have held Pau Navarro before finishing. Ten minutes later, Bryan Zaragoza provided the assist for Cabrera to break the deadlock, and Espanyol held firm from there.

Villarreal’s afternoon was further complicated by an early injury to Gerard Moreno, who was withdrawn with a muscle problem in the 17th minute and replaced by Nicolas Pépé. Foyth and Diatta had already been ruled out ahead of kick-off.

The result moves Espanyol up to 12th in La Liga with 11 points. Villarreal remain 10th on 12 points.

González had overseen 107 official matches for Espanyol’s first team. He departed after a Copa del Rey defeat that left the club with just one point from their previous 15 available in the league. Sarabia’s new backroom staff includes former Espanyol centre-back Álvaro González, who was at the club from 2014 to 2017 before joining Olympique de Marseille.

Sarabia is expected to take charge for the first time when Espanyol host Deportivo La Coruña at home on Saturday 7 November.

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