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Match Report: Late Racing turnaround leaves RCD Espanyol beaten

The team lose 1-2 away from home

An 84th-minute goal for the home side meant that RCD Espanyol went home emptyhanded from their game against Racing Santander, losing 2-1 in Cantabria. Los Pericos had taken the lead in the second half, but the hosts fought back within 15 minutes and preserved their unbeaten record at El Sardinero.

The game featured some harsh early refereeing, as two yellow cards were issued to Iñigo Vicente and Pol Lozano and elicited whistles from the crowd towards the official.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm, until RCD Espanyol goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño managed to block a shot from Sergio Canales from inside the box.

Two minutes later, Cala attempted a response, but his effort deflected off a Racing defender.

Then came the real twist: in the 38th minute, a cross from Cala struck the outstretched arm of a Racing defender. A blatant penalty was set to be awarded, but the officials decided to rewind the play even further on VAR, and gave a foul by Roberto Fernández on Belocian which annulled the spot kick decision.

The match picked up some pace at the start of the second half. Both teams injected more intensity and speed into their play, with the ball moving from one end to the other -albeit not always creating clear-cut danger.

The unpredictable nature of the game culminated in a sustained attacking sequence involving Bryan, Cala, Javi Hernández, and Edu Expósito, the latter of whom fired the ball into the back of the net to make it 0–1. Prior to that, Fortuño had pulled off a couple of flying saves to keep out dangerous opportunities for the home side.

Both teams continued to press forward, and Belocian unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box that found the back of the net to equalise. Fortuño protested, claiming a handball by Pablo García in the build-up, and was shown a yellow card.

As the match entered its final stages, Zabiri scored to make it 2–1, condemning RCD Espanyol to defeat.