Espanyol sprung a surprise result against Villarreal, winning 3-0 at El Madrigal, with two goals for Felipe Caicedo, the brace delivering a first win since the end of February for Sergio Gonzales’s side and perhaps ending the Yellow Submarine’s lingering Champions League hopes. Villarreal are now 12 points behind Valencia with eight games to play.
It isn’t the first time this year that Caicedo has had a telling impact for his team. The Ecuador international has 11 goals in 32 appearances, a decent return for a side that doesn’t score many goals, and previously Caicedo has claimed crucial goals against Levante, Granada, Valencia and Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, Celta Vigo and Almeria. But the goal against Almeria, in late January, was his last until this week.
That meant an 11-game goalless run but Caicedo ended the drought in remarkable fashion, claiming a brace and 40 EuroFantasyLeague points before Victor Sanchez added a third against Marcelino’s men. It may be asking too much of ninth-place Espanyol to chase down Villarreal, in sixth, with a gap of 12 points between them, but Los Periquitos now at least have some momentum on which they can build when they host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. A win would see Espanyol overtake the Basques.
Prior to the game at Villarreal, Sergio had been on the defensive. Espanyol were roundly criticised for recent performances and results and though he accepted they were off-the-boil against Elche, it was an impassioned defence of his squad. Sergio called for Espanyol to keep the faith and it appears Caicedo heeded his words. From meandering into the end of the season, Espanyol are now relishing every game – thanks to the striker’s brace.
Momentum is important for Espanyol as there are a couple of vital games to come. The visit of Athletic gives Espanyol the chance to avenge their semi-final Copa exit, Los Leones having won 3-1 on aggregate back in early March, while before April is out, Espanyol play host to Barcelona. It’s always a fevered occasion when Barca visit Cornella-El Prat and Espanyol would relish denting La Blaugrana’s title hopes. It would also be the perfect time for Caicedo to maintain his record of decisive goals in important games.
Caicedo’s 11 goals have helped make Sergio’s first year on the bench into a successful one. Mid-table comfort and an extended run in the Cup would have gone down as a good return for the rookie Coach before a ball was kicked in 2014-15 and that is how Espanyol stand. But had the team staggered into the end of the season doubts would have been raised, particularly if Espanyol’s mid-table place was closer to the bottom than the top. But routing Villarreal confirms Espanyol are still alive and kicking and in Caicedo, they have a striker who, on his day, can harm any opponent.
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