Iglesias sends Espanyol 2nd, one point behind Barcelona
barcelona— Seeing Barcelona at the top of the table in Spain comes as no surprise.
But not even the most optimistic Espanyol and Alaves fans — two teams expected to be midtable fin- ishers at best — could have predicted their teams would be second and third, respectively, two months into the season. Espanyol moved to within one point of defending champion and crosstown rival Barcelona after winning its first away match of the season on Sunday.
Espanyol and Alaves have 17 points. Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are two points behind Barcelona, and struggling Real Madrid is another two points back.
Striker Borja Iglesias scored both
Espanyol goals to secure a comfortable 2-0 win at promoted Huesca.
Espanyol coach Joan “Rubi” Ferrer coached Huesca last year and helped earn its first-ever promotion to the top flight, before he then signed for Espanyol.
Besides new arrival Iglesias, Rubi has revitalized a squad that performed dismally last campaign under Quique Sanchez Flores.
Espanyol has won all four of its home matches but had yet to win away until its trip to Huesca. “There is no euphoria ... there is hard work and we are not going to let up,” Rubi said. “I am sure my players have their feet on the ground because they have seen that it takes five matches for us to win on the road. We are going to defend second place and attack those in front.”
Huesca was playing its first match under new coach Francisco Rodriguez, who replaced Leo Franco after he was fired after seven rounds without a win.
Also, Valladolid won 1-0 at Real Betis for a fourth straight victory, while Getafe beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 and Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Eibar. —