Eibar (Spain), Jan 22 (IANS) Eibar climbed to 11th place in LaLiga with a 3-0 victory over Espanyol, the first win for the hosts since they thrashed Real Madrid by the same score on November 24.
Espanyol slipped to 13th with Monday’s result, yet they remain just 2 points behind eighth-place Real Sociedad in a tightly packed middle of the table, reports Efe.
True to their style, the hosts played with verve and intensity, but Sergi Enrich’s failure to win the 1v1 with Espanyol keeper Diego Lopez on the first opportunity was not encouraging for supporters who showed up at Eibar’s Ipurua stadium on a frigid Monday night.
Just a minute later, Enrich made good by pouncing on a rebound to make it 1-0 for Eibar in the 24th minute.
Espanyol reacted, creating a few nervous moments for the home side, but the rally fizzled out in minutes and Lopez had to make stops against Pablo de Blasis and Enrich to keep the score close at half-time.
Espanyol’s Leo Baptistao tested the Eibar defense with a fine individual effort early in the second half, which turned out to be the last sign of life from the visitors on the attack.
De Blasis scored in the 51st minute to increase Eibar’s lead to 2-0 and Charles bested Lopez to add a third goal in the 84th minute.
–IANS
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