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González: "We should have closed the match out"

The coach talks after the 1-1 draw with Málaga CF

Manolo González made no secret of his frustration following RCD Espanyol’s 1-1 draw against Málaga at La Rosaleda. The coach was unhappy with the way Adrián Niño’s goal in stoppage time ultimately cost them the win.

"The first half was excellent; we could have gone into the break 3-0 up. The second half changed everything," explained the coach, pointing to the injury-forced substitution of Javi Hernández as a key factor that disrupted the team's rhythm.

"It threw us off a bit, and from that point on, we stopped launching effective counter-attacks," González acknowledged.

The sequence leading to Málaga’s goal was a major focus of the RCD Espanyol coach's post-match comments. He felt his team defended poorly against the hosts' final attack and argued that they could not afford to concede such a chance late on.

"I take a lot of responsibility for things, but the game shouldn't have reached that moment. We should have closed the match out with the corner kick," stated the coach.

"In that situation, you have to sprint back at full speed. We defended it terribly, and it cost us the three points," he lamented.