Espanyol will try to avoid relegation to the Second Division in the four remaining days. It would be the sixth in its history, the second in just four seasons, a negative record that could accompany five players from Espanyol’s first team in their careers. Sergi Darder, as well as Leandro Cabrera, Fernando Calero, Adrià Pedrosa and Javi Puado They were already part of the worst Espanyol in history, the one that managed just 25 points and finished last classified in the 2019-20 campaign. They hope not to stumble on the same stone.
LaLiga Santander 2022/2023
| Classification | pts | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18Getafe | 3. 4 | 8 | 10 | 16 |
| 19Spanish | 31 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| twentyElche | 19 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
Complete classification
| next matches | |
|---|---|
| Ray – Spanish | D-21/05 14:00 |
| Spanish – athletic | M-24/05 22:00 |
| Valencia – Spanish | D-28/05 19:00 |
Calendar
*Data updated as of May 17, 2023
The longest-serving player is Darder, who joined the blue and white team in the 2017-18 campaign and has become one of the players with the most caps in the club’s history (241). The Majorcan, captain, has lived through everything in these campaigns: European success in the 2018-19 academic year, relegation a year later, promotion and the current situation in which survival in First Division hangs by a thread. The second longest-serving player is Puado, who has been in the first team since the 2018-19 campaign, also the European one. The relegation course was transferred, but he was part of the first part of the squad’s campaign. He experienced the promotion and became one of Espanyol’s values.
Next up is youth squad player Adrià Pedrosa, who will not continue next season by not renewing his contract. The man from Gavà lived his first professional course, with the first team number, the year of relegation. Although he has been unnoticed for a year due to injuries, he is also part of the current squad. That same campaign Fernando Calero also arrived, paying eight million to Valladolid. The center-back has not been able to perform at the level shown in Pucela except for the Second year, and has been the starter and substitute for all the coaches, now including Luis García. More indisputable is Cabrera, who arrived in January 2020 with the aim of saving Espanyol, a purpose that the winter reinforcements did not achieve either.
It would not be the first time that Espanyol players have accumulated two relegations. In the squad that was relegated after the Leverkusen final, the one in 1988-89 and the one that was relegated in the 1992-93 campaign there were two players with first team numbers: Eloy Pérez and Xavi Escaich.
