Espanyol 1-1 Real Oviedo
Espanyol continued their winless run on Monday night against Real Oviedo at the RCDE Stadium, sharing points with Real Oviedo. As the malaise affecting both sides continued, it was a result that did little for either side.
The visitors started the better, taking just eight minutes to get on the scoresheet. After some great work down the left side from Villarreal loanee Thiago Fernandez, beating two defenders inside the box, he saw his cut blocked. Reacting quickly, he latched on to a loose ball and cleared it off the line for Alberto Reina to finish easily from the center of the box.
The celebrations were short-lived for Oviedo, as Espanyol launched a long-range attack on their goal. Carlos Romero, Espanyol’s most dangerous player of the night, fired a slow double from the left, before Tyrhys Dolan delivered the first goal from Aaron Escandell – two of his teammates screaming for the ball in the middle.
It was Cyril Ngonge from Dolan’s usual position on the right who scored the equalizing goal, he missed the field on the side. His ball fell, after the defenders ran back into the area, to surprise the Oviedo back line, but Kike Garcia anticipated the slow movement of the pass, then he got onto the ball from the center of the box to finish low and hard. Before the break, Oviedo faced renewed pressure, as Dolan had another good chance.
The lack of cutting costs the victory of Espanyol
Based on the statistics and the flow of the game, Espanyol looked guaranteed to finally tear Oviedo’s defense apart in the second half. Guillermo Almada managed to stem the flow of attacks somewhat, and Espanyol struggled to find clear goals. Similarly, Oviedo’s ambition seemed to fade in the second half as well, as their attacking threat was conspicuous by its absence in the second half.
In total, Escandell faced 28 shots at Espanyol, 10 of which were on target, meaning goalkeeper Oviedo was up against the best player in the game. However, on reflection, Escandell will feel that the stops he made in the second half were within his power.
It’s surprising.
¡OTRO PARADÓN DE ESCANDELL! 😱@RealOviedo | LALIGA Highlights pic.twitter.com/0wjqks9k9O
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) March 9, 2026
If Oviedo got a point against the top half, what rebellion Almada has inspired in recent months seems to be diminishing, given their first team status. Safety are eight points adrift with 11 games remaining, and their 17 goals are the eighth lowest in the division.
For the first time in seven games, Espanyol managed not to concede more than one in a game, but that was not enough to prevent their winless run in 2026 from bringing the double figures. Manolo Gonzalez’s side are still three points away from Europe in 7th place, following their first half of the season, but you will know very well that such a long period of searching for momentum and wins is not healthy.
