Ramis’ Espanyol is an inert team, which only needs to receive the last rites after adding another defeat, this time against Racing in Santander. The parakeets have not won at home since October 5 and are beginning to jeopardize promotion, with the playoff already seen as a tolerable exit. While the sun rises in the Far East and Mr. Chen receives the tragic news from his team, no explanations emerge to justify a new disastrous exercise for the parakeet team, which if it plays football it is only because it has 11 players on the green, not for what he does with the ball. The nothing.
There was no time to even open the bag of pipes before the Spanish nightmare began. His fragility emerged before the first minute of the game was over. With just four supersonic touches, Racing moved the ball from its own area to its rival’s area. There came Íñigo Vicente, one of the best passers in the category, who already had Arana’s position in mind, completely alone at the penalty spot. The racing striker’s shot was unappealable for Pacheco and El Sardinero exploded for the first time.
Espanyol (and Ramis) had only been saved by the score against Levante a week ago but without a game it is difficult to repeat miracles. Despite everything, Ramis’ men showed a little pride in trying to get off the mat. An overly crossed shot by Ian Forns, one of the few lights that illuminates the parakeet team in these dark times, was his best haul. But it didn’t take long for Racing to smell blood, to realize that the Spanish reaction was more the result of inertia than anything else, and began to besiege their goal.
Pacheco emerged for a few minutes as the savior of his team, perhaps creating an illusion that would soon dissipate. Vicente and Mboula ran into the Extremaduran goalkeeper. But before half an hour, the scoreboard had work again. This time it was a calamitous loss by Víctor Ruiz at the ball’s exit that allowed Peque to beat Espanyol’s goal almost at will. The disaster was beginning to take on epic dimensions and the future of Ramis, already dismissed with whistles by his fans despite winning against Levante, seemed blacker than coal. Pacheco avoided Peque’s third just a few minutes later.
The blue and white coach looked for a reaction with a double substitution after the break, but it was more out of obligation than conviction. On the green no change was detected in the game and as the clock ticked the final whistle seemed the only way out capable of relieving Espanyol. Racing lived calmly against a rival that could not even display top scorer Braithwaite as an argument, as dull as his Danish team. A flat encephalogram that returned Racing to the fight for the playoff and sentenced Ramis’ future. It is difficult to imagine another scenario that does not end in his dismissal. Chen has the floor.
2 – Santander Racing: Ezkieta; Dani Fernandez, Manu Hernando, Germán, Mario Garcia, Aldasoro (Morante, min.88), Inigo, Mboula, Peque (Lago Junior, min.71), and Arana (Andrews, min.65, Baturina, min.88).
0 – RCD Espanyol: Pacheco; El Hilali, S.Gómez, Víctor Ruiz, Ian (Sánchez, m.46), Pol Lozano (Bare, min.65), Aguado (Puado, min.75), Jofre (Lazo, min.65), Pere Milla, Omar Sadik (Rubén, m.46), Braithwaite
Goals: 1-0, m.1: Arana; 2-0, m.28: Peque
Referee: Miguel Sesma Espinosa (Rioja Committee). He showed a yellow card to Manu Hernando (m.57) from Racing de Santander.
Incidents: Matchday 26 of LaLiga Hypermotion played at the El Sardinero Sports Fields in front of 13,512 spectators. Before the opening whistle, a tribute was paid to the 2014 Racing team, who held a stand of honor to protest against non-payments.