Espanyol Coach Rages: "Those Three Goals Weren't Brilliant Play, They Were Our Own Mistakes"

Manolo González expressed his disappointment with Espanyol's performance after their heavy 4-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Catalan derby, a match from the 31st round of Spain's La Liga. The visiting coach was adamant that the goals conceded by the 'Blaugrana' were a result of gross errors by his players, rather than the opponent's superiority.

“You're in the game, you're focused. You're controlling the match where you want it, and in the 80th minute, you're still in it. And despite doing everything necessary, we concede three goals... I'm not counting the fourth, but those three goals weren't the result of brilliant play; they were our own actions where we failed to come out on top. The first goal came from a corner kick, which is truly shameful, and for the second, Gavi wins an aerial duel against us. That's absolutely infuriating. Then, for the third, the exact same thing happens – we lose a challenge in the center of the pitch, and the situation ends with a goal against us. The team leaves devastated, even though we showed strength in some aspects. As in all four matches we've played against them since I've been here, I have the feeling we could have taken points. In all four cases, you leave with a foolish expression because you've gained nothing.

We need to start winning as soon as possible. We have an away game at Vallecas, where we must compete at the highest level. We shouldn't look at anything else – that's how we'll be where we want to be, which is in the elite. The usual happens – when we win, we're all great heroes, there's nothing more to say. In the 85th minute, we're closer to the 'Les Corts' cemetery than to Camp Nou, and in the 87th, we're all braver than ever. That's the situation. When you lose, you have to take it. When you're mocked in defeat, you have to swallow it,” González stated.