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0-1 victory against Union Berlin
The team leave Germany unbeaten after Puado converts a penalty
RCD Espanyol closed out their stay in Germany with a win in their friendly against FC Union Berlin, whom they bested 0-1 with a penalty scored by Javi Puado.
The game brought an end to the team's stay in Germany, and also reunited them with a familiar face: In the FC Union Berlin squad was Alex Král, who spent last season at the RCDE Stadium.
The friendly had a unique atmosphere, as the An der Alten Försterei, began filling up more than two hours before kickoff.
The home team, who had been in training camp for ten days, was eager to please their fans and came out all guns blazing. RCD Espanyol, meanwhile, were solid and settled, managing to halt the Germans' initial momentum.
Union Berlin enjoyed possession, but Los Pericos responded by being very incisive on the counterattack. Roca had a shot from outside the box that was too square, then connected with Kike Garcia in a move that ended up blocked by a defender.
Puado gave a warning after a brilliant run in which he beat the two centre backs, but couldn't finish off in the way he wanted.
The captain, however, made no mistake from the penalty spot, converting after Jofre Carreras had been brought down inside the box.
The home team wanted to increase their intensity and momentum -at times, excessively so. Espanyol countered the Germans' physicality well, although there were constant interruptions in play.
Union Berlin had a good opportunity from a corner that was poorly cleared by Espanyol's defence, but there was a let-off as the finish failed to materialise.
Manolo González's men tried to surprise on the counterattack again, although they lacked the freshness they had shown in the first half. Goalkeeper Fortuño, who barely had to intervene in the first half, gradually became more involved, and handled the task well.
The second half saw Thyrys Dolan's debut for the club. The English winger, who has been training with the team for ten days, was unable to participate much in the game, although he showed for the ball constantly and left a good impression.
RCD Espanyol return to Barcelona with two wins in Germany and are now focused on their final preseason match against Newcastle United.