Espanyol vs Real Sociedad. Spanish La Liga.
Estadi Cornella-El PratAttendance18,326.
Primera Division: Espanyol overpowered Real Sociedad 2-0 to pick up a second straight home victory.
Sunday 5 October 2014 22:36, UK
Espanyol overpowered Real Sociedad 2-0 at El Prat to pick up a second straight home victory and move up to eighth place in the Primera Division.
Lucas Vazquez put the hosts in front inside seven minutes and substitute Christian Stuani made sure of the points with a close-range finish in stoppage time.
Espanyol have now taken seven points from their last three games and things are looking up for Sergio Gonzalez's side after a difficult start.
The same cannot be said for Real Sociedad, who languish just one point above the relegation zone.
Espanyol outfought their opponents from start to finish, pressing the Basques all over the pitch and taking their chances when they arrived.
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They took an early lead when Sergio Garcia held the ball up in the left hand side of the penalty area before cutting it back for Vazquez to control with a touch before finding the bottom corner.
The midfielder has adapted to life at Espanyol with remarkable ease since joining the Catalan club on loan from Real Madrid in the summer and it was he who came closest to scoring again before the break, his accurate free-kick forcing Real goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai to tip over the bar.
The Basques had little answer to Espanyol's intensity and their only memorable chance in the first 45 minutes was a tame shot by Imanol Agirretxe that was easily caught by Kiko Casilla.
The introduction of Chory Castro and Jon Gaztanaga in the second half did little to wake the visitors, although the latter was not far away from scoring a remarkable equaliser, his 25-yard shot fizzing just a couple of feet over Casilla's bar.
As the minutes ticked away Espanyol came closer and closer to scoring a second goal.
Stuani was denied a clear path to goal by a questionable foul awarded against him, and then the Uruguayan struggled to stay on his feet as he tried to get on the end of a loose ball in the box.
But it proved to be a case of third time lucky for the substitute, who volleyed home Paco Montanes' sweeping cross in the third minute of stoppage time to score his fourth goal of the season.
