From a bird’s eye view, the table appears to be business as usual in LaLiga.

By Zach Lowy

Just like last season, Barcelona sit four points clear of Real Madrid, who sit four above Villarreal and five above Atlético Madrid (both of whom are playing in the UEFA Champions League). Atleti sit nine above Real Betis, 11 above Athletic Club, and 12 above Celta de Vigo, all of whom are playing European football.

And then, there it is, sticking out like a sore thumb in fifth place: Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona. After spending the past few years trading relegation battles for promotion chases, Espanyol find themselves in the midst of a heated battle for European football. And unlike their rivals, who are juggling 3-4 competitions, Espanyol only have one competition to focus on.

Founded in 1900, Espanyol became a regional powerhouse over the first half of the 20th century before fading into obscurity. The start of the millennium brought sunnier skies for Espanyol, claiming a first major national trophy in six decades with the 2000 Copa del Rey followed by the 2006 Copa del Rey, but they took a turn for the worse in 2020 after finishing bottom and ending a 26-year chapter in the top-flight. Espanyol rebounded by winning promotion and narrowly avoiding the drop, but they would descend in 2022/23 thanks to a league-worst 69 goals conceded. Once again, the Parakeets immediately broke free of their cage, placing fourth in the Segunda before defeating Sporting Gijón and Real Oviedo in the promotion playoffs to return to LaLiga, where they staved off relegation by two points.

“After achieving survival on the last matchday, the main objective of fans was not to suffer again. The prospects after the summer transfer window were good, but at no point could I have imagined that on matchday 16, we’d be four points behind Atlético with a game in hand,” stated Sergio Escario, who covers Espanyol for Mundo Deportivo. “For me, the main reason for all the good things that are happening to Espanyol, apart from manager Manolo González, is sporting director Fran Garagarza, who overcame the criticism from the press (myself included) and intelligently invested the €25 million from Joan García‘s transfer. He exchanged a world-class goalkeeper for a balanced squad in all areas, with players he can sell for a lucrative profit soon. We’re daring to dream, but we’re still keeping our feet on the ground, as Manolo always makes sure to remind us.”

González launched his coaching career in 1995 at the age of 16 with the Infantil B squad of Martinenc, balancing his fledgling coaching career in the lower leagues with his 9-5 as a bus driver. It wasn’t until 2018 that he left his bus driver position in order to pursue coaching full-time. Five years later, he was hired by Espanyol B, before eventually taking charge of the first team in March 2024 and guiding them to promotion. And after masterminding a last-ditch escape, González has Espanyol fans dreaming of returning to UEFA competition after seven years, as well as a maiden Champions League qualification.

Despite losing one of the best goalkeepers in Spain, and despite a fairly quiet transfer window comprised of signings from the second divisions of England, Italy, Germany and Spain, Espanyol have metamorphosed into a stalwart defensive force. Only Villarreal (13) have conceded fewer goals than Espanyol (16), who sit atop LaLiga for clean sheets (7) alongside Villarreal and Real Madrid. Ranking bottom for average possession and 18th for accurate passes per match, Espanyol don’t have much use for possession without purpose; they’re going to move it forward as quickly as possible without risking a costly giveaway. It doesn’t matter whether they’re playing in a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1; Espanyol have consistently avoided elementary mistakes and given themselves a fighting chance in each game with their unbreakable defensive focus, controlled possession play, and efficient dead-ball prowess. In fact, you’d have to go back all the way until May 11 for the last time they conceded over two goals in a single match.

After kicking off November with back-to-back defeats, Espanyol returned from the international break with victories vs. Sevilla and Celta de Vigo before losing 1-0 to fourth-tier Atlético Baleares in the Copa del Rey, but they responded with a 1-0 win vs. Rayo Vallecano. Espanyol then travelled to Getafe, where they continued their corner-kick goal-scoring heroics via Leandro Cabrera, who fired in a league-high eighth headed goal for Espanyol.

“Before, Espanyol would spend the entire match bunkering down and defending close to their box,” stated Emilio Blanco, who covers Espanyol for Diario AS and La Grada Online. “Now it’s very different: we see a team that presses and defends further away from their area, but when they have to defend deep, they do it even better than last season. After four straight wins, I’ve stopped looking at the statistics and understood that it’s not that Espanyol is getting lucky or playing above their capabilities, but rather that the statistics show that this is Espanyol’s real level.”

“Espanyol are a very organized team that is rarely caught out of position, and it’s very difficult to create chances against them. You only have to watch the matches to see how few shots Marko Dmitrović faces. Going forward, they’re a very dynamic team that prefers to reach the box in five passes rather than 10. In short, Espanyol are a chameleon team. They adapt to any type of match and are capable of taking the initiative and attacking, or sitting back and defending deep.”

After being stuck in gridlock for the first quarter-century of his coaching career, González is now accelerating to the upper echelon of LaLiga with Espanyol, who have equalled their best-ever start to a season with 30 points from 16 matches, winning four straight LaLiga matches for the first time since 2009, and keeping three straight clean sheets. And on Monday, they’ll be looking to close out a rollercoaster year in Spanish football with their first victory against Athletic Club since September 2022. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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