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RCD Espanyol best Southampton 2-1
A Puado brace earns another preseason win
The Ciudad Deportiva Dani Jarque held RCD Espanyol's third preseason friendly on a sunny Saturday morning, as the training ground was filled to watch Los Pericos take on Southampton FC. The 2-1 result against the English side came after another positive performance.
The players who had finished the game against Girona in the Copa Catalunya final were chosen as starters for this contest.
RCD Espanyol were relatively solid in the early stages, aside from a few minor setbacks or occasional losses of possession. Jofre Carreras was very active on the right wing, and delivered several good crosses in to both Bauza and Roberto Fernández.
Bauza made some good runs of his own, such as one that ended up with a cross that Roberto finished off with a strike off-target.
Salazar, in a daring attempt, tried a long-range shot that was blocked by England international goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Southampton had little of note in attack, except for a shot from Brereton Díaz and another effort that Dmitrović confidently cleared.
Espanyol maintained their level of performance after the break and continued to dominate against opponents who, while trying to generate more stylish play, failed to trouble Dmitrović.
Jofre still threatened down the right and came close to scoring off a great solo move that ended with a clear foul on Salinas inside the box, which was ignored by the referee.
Little by little, Manolo González made changes to his starting XI. Javi Puado, one of those who came on, tried his luck with a shot from outside the box that Ramsdale caught, and after the warning, the first goal came: The captain benefited from a ricochet off his attempt to connect with Kike García, and he managed to turn the ball into the net.
Puado soon had the opportunity to score again, by converting a penalty awarded for a foul on Kike García. The captain, as always, made no mistake from the spot.
The visitors scored in added time thanks to Downs, but the game ended 2-1 to RCD Espanyol.