Roberto Fernández scores twice inside 17 minutes as Espanyol beat Osasuna 2-0

Espanyol needed only 17 minutes to win this one. Roberto Fernández scored in the 3rd minute and again in the 17th, and Osasuna spent the rest of the afternoon trying and failing to find a way back into a game they controlled for long spells without ever really threatening the away goal. It finished 2-0, Espanyol's away win snapping a run of two matches without a victory.

Both goals came from quick Espanyol breaks that caught Osasuna high up the pitch. Fernández's first arrived almost from the kick-off, and his second, 14 minutes later, was enough to settle the contest before the home crowd had properly found its voice. Osasuna huffed and puffed for the remaining 73 minutes but never got the goal that would have made it a contest again.

Plenty of the ball, none of the end product

The numbers make uncomfortable reading for Osasuna. They had 60.6% of the possession and 11 shots to Espanyol's 6 — and yet not a single one of those 11 attempts was on target, while Espanyol converted two of their six. Osasuna also gave away only 10 fouls to Espanyol's 24, evidence of a home side that had the ball and the territory but never the cutting edge to punish a visiting team playing a more physical, direct game.

Line-ups

Osasuna lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Herrera in goal, Arguibide, Yeboah, Catena and Rico at the back, Moncayola and Muñoz in front of them, and Rubén García, Raúl García and Barja supporting Budimir. Espanyol set up in the same shape with Dmitrovic behind El Hilali, Riedel, Cabrera and Hinojo, González de Zárate and Expósito holding, and Marcos Fernández, Javi Hernández and Dolan feeding Roberto Fernández.

Osasuna's last five in the archive

Where it leaves the table

Osasuna went into the round eighth on 7 points from two wins, a draw and a defeat. A second straight loss — following the 5-2 defeat at Alavés last time out — keeps them on 7 points and leaves them looking over their shoulder rather than up the table. Espanyol had taken just 4 points from their first four matches: a home win over Levante was followed by back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, then a draw at home to Sevilla. This win takes them to 7 points as well, level with Osasuna, and ends a run of one win in their previous three.