In Marbella, under a blazing sun, Espanyol began the preseason with a narrow defeat against Cádiz (0-1). The friendly did not serve to draw conclusions, just a few hints of the project were seen, a test to make contact with the ball against a competitive rival and to begin to get fit for a very long season that the Blue and Whites hope to culminate with promotion to First Division.
Captain Sergi Darder, who was asked from the stands to stay at the club, was the main claim of the eleven that Luis García arranged, which had several homegrown players as usual at this point in the summer. “The team is at its best, mentally very strong,” said the Asturian coach before the match.
The man from Oviedo was right, as his pupils came out onto the pitch with intensity, although with several normal coordination errors after so many weeks without competing. Sergio González’s men, a myth of Spanishism, took advantage of the losses in the ball to create several chances, first Machís and then a Negredo who looked for a shot to the squad. The veteran striker also tried it out, just like Fali and Roger Martí.
Dimata scored for Espanyol, but the assistant disallowed the goal for offside, wrongly judging by the replay. It was the only clear attempt in the initial 45 minutes of a Espanyol with more possession but with little bite. The last section of the first part, with more inaccuracies, became more abrupt, especially by the people of Cádiz, who chained three hard fouls on Lazo.
After the break, several fresh players came on, including a Handful who squandered the best parrot opportunity in the early stages of the second half. The Catalan failed one-on-one against Conan Ledesma. He did not forgive, however, Mbaye, who got rid of a corner kick from Sergi Gómez’s mark to open the scoring with a header.
After the goal, Espanyol lost control of the game and Cádiz was even able to score the second. Only Omar’s leg, which cleared for a corner, prevented Mwepu’s shot from ending up on goal. After the hydration break, with the pertinent rectifications by Luis García to his players, the parakeets approached the yellows area again, this time in black, but it was insufficient to level the score.