Well, Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao might not be putting on as amazing a show as Inter Milan and Palermo did earlier (or, for College Football fans, as Notre Dame and Michigan did last night), but this match has certainly been entertaining for neutrals. And that's not shocking when you have a Marcelo Bielsa-coached team taking on a heavily attacking side.
Halftime, Espanyol 1-0 Athletic Bilbao: Sergio García Strike Gives Pericos Early Lead
Both teams started the match at a really high pace, exchanging attacks in rapid succession, though Bielsa's leones had the lion's share of possession (pun intended). Athletic's young, golden-haired striker Fernando Llorente opened up the chances, striking a ball across the face of goal within minutes of the opening whistle.
But “El Loco” Bielsa’s side started to shrink as the game went on, and within twenty minutes Espanyol had seized the lion by its’ mane, so to speak (how many lion jokes can I make? Lots. How many will be funny? Very few). Right after the 21st minute, when Espanyol fans traditionally salute their fallen captain Dani Jarque with a minute-long standing ovation, Sergio García gave the crowd at Cornellà-El Prat something to smile about, heading home a cross from Álvaro.
After the goal, things began to quiet down again; but the leones would roar once more before the stroke of halftime. The “Lion King” Llorente chested a long cross down to Marcos in front of goal, but the young Basque playmaker’s volley flew over the crossbar; too bad, really--it would’ve definitely been a candidate for goal of the week had it gone in.
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