A great Spaniard sleeps as leader after ‘sweeping’ Levante

Espanyol will sleep this Friday as leaders of the Second Division after achieving a convincing and deserved victory against Levante, one of the parakeets’ direct rivals for promotion.

But Perico’s team was now more than Granota and with the help of some stars Javi Puado and Nico Melamed, with two goals each, they sealed the golden victory to put Perico’s team as temporary leaders of the Second Division, waiting for What Zaragoza Does on Sunday.

Hit the table for a Spaniard who finally today, dispelled the doubts and made it very clear that this is one of the clear favorites to be promoted. He played a great game against another ‘gallitos’, passing the first difficult test with a very high score. Very serious in defense and very effective up front thanks to the firepower of two homegrown players, Puado and Melamed, who advanced. The young players stand out but the truth is that the whole team today is bordering on great and the win could have been bigger if not for the inspiration of Femenías who prevented some parakeet goals. A resounding victory, a knock on the table and 13 points out of 15 contested for a Spaniard who is unbeaten and shows a serious candidacy in pursuit of promotion.

Luis García made only two changes, also mandatory, with respect to the starting eleven that came out against Amorebieta. Ramon Ramos fills the void of the injured Brian Oliván and Edu Expósito, that of Keidi Bare, in his national team.

The Spaniard could not have started better, biting from the first breath. So, in the first minute, Jofre gave Puado a death pass, but he failed incredibly at point-blank range.

The eleven parakeets did not collapse and put Levante in their place, harassed by the storm of the Catalans. He led and liked Spanish and won a prize. Nico Melamed, connected, got a loose ball in front, after Ramon’s help, and took the whip to beat Femenías.

The 0-1 score prompted a canine parakeet eleven looking for more against a Levante that lacked attacking presence. Pere Milla got it (17′) and then the local goalkeeper dominated with a double intervention from point-blank shots by Nico and Edu Expósito (24′). Levante was saved thanks to the inspiration of Femenías.

But the Spaniard did not close out the victory and Levante stretched, looking for the Catalan goal. Clemente warned (29′) and Bouldini, the sweet striker, equalized. Andrés García makes a ‘suit’ for Ramon and his cross is taken advantage of by the granota forward, the blue and white defense is quite passive (34′).

It was time to come back against a Spanish team that felt strong and did not want to leave the victory for the second half. Femenías again acted as saviors, providing reassurance against the shots of Edu Expósito (38′) and Nico Melamed. Espanyol pressed and held onto Femenías like a wild boar.

But the local goalkeeper was powerless against Puado’s ‘delicatessen’. At the end of half-time, the youth player hit a brutal shot, from an angle and almost no angle, to beat Femenías, who recovered from the mistake in the first minute. The parakeet bench explodes and he goes to the shower with an advantage.

At the restart Salvi took Jofre’s place and Levante, with the chips not moving, came out more plugged in, huffing at the start. More upright and connected, Dani Gómez had a chance to equalize again, but the Spaniard held off the local tantrum.

But Nico Melamed took the stage again to calm the parakeets’ fears. And he made it into a work of art.

In the 57th minute, ’21’ put the team on his back and started a brutal counter-attack that he himself ended with a deadly whip to make it 1-3, a great goal to start putting of the Catalans on the path to victory. Nico Melamed took a step forward and silenced the stadium.

Nerves and a few whistles in the Ciutat de València against an injured Calleja team. He did not lose face in the duel and in the 60th minute managed to reduce the gap, but Calero disguised himself as a savior to sweep away an all-conquering Bouldini.

The contest was electrifying with Espanyol temporarily losing a comfortable lead and Levante refusing to attack and feeling nervous at the back.

Furthermore, in the 64th minute Puado came close to taking advantage of a lack of coordination between Vezo and Femenías to score, but a defender intercepted the ball on the same line.

Espanyol continued to press, looking for a penalty and the outlook got better in the 71st minute when Levante were left one down after a direct red card saw Vezo, sent off after tripping Nico Melamed, as the last player.

Levante were in full possession in the final period and Álex Muñoz managed to reduce the gap in the 82nd minute. He didn’t do it and what happened was Puado’s second goal, a header to ‘kill’ a counterattack and a game that was always blue and white. Hit the table after the gold victory. At last Spanishism smiled.