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Match Report: RCD Espanyol beat CA Osasuna 0-2
Los Pericos win out at El Sadar
RCD Espanyol secured another victory on LaLiga Matchday 5, beating CA Osasuna at El Sadar. Their 0-2 triumph ended a negative streak at the stadium in Pamplona, and was driven by conviction and collective effort. Roberto Fernández got both goals, continuing his good start to the season.
Espanyol started strong, immediately pressing high up the pitch. The opener came within seconds, as Marko Dmitrovic found Omar El Hilali, he controlled and passed to Marcos Fernández, and the cross in from the right was met by Roberto Fernández to tap in on two minutes.
CA Osasuna’s Ante Budimir responded shortly after with a header that went over the bar, and Raúl García did the same for the home side a few minutes later. Osasuna continued lofting balls into the box and crowding the area.
Raúl García also tried to break through the centre of the defence, but ended up on the ground. The entire stadium appealed for a penalty, but the referee and VAR both ended up agreeing that there was nothing in the incident.
Just as the protests were dying down, Roberto made it 0–2. An exquisite pass from Edu Expósito found Omar, who delivered a dangerous cross. A mix-up between Catena and Sergio Herrera left the ball rolling gently to Roberto, who finished clinically.
A minute later, Kike Barja slipped between Omar and the byline to set up Rubén García. Whilst he converted the chance, Dmitrovic insisted the ball had gone out over the byline; VAR alerted the referee of this, and the goal was disallowed.
The second half began with Osasuna trying to overturn the deficit with intensity, although they failed to create any clear-cut chances. Once Espanyol weathered that initial surge midway through the half, they managed to regain their composure and control the tempo.
RCD Espanyol held on to round off an impressive showing, claiming a 0-2 win on the road on Matchday 5.