Espanyol put three past Levante in dream start to new LaLiga season

Hoping to continue their strong momentum from the end of last season, Espanyol were off to the perfect start inside just five minutes, after Edu Exposito’s free-kick found its way to Roberto Fernandez, who poked in off the far post.

Javi Hernandez was equally as threatening for the hosts, and he forced Mathew Ryan to parry away his fierce strike from the edge of the box.

The Australian also had to be alert to prevent Alex Calatrava from opening his Espanyol account, as the new signing cut inside onto his left foot before firing towards the bottom corner, only for Ryan to crucially palm away.

However, the hosts would double their lead before half-time, with Fernandez grabbing a first-half brace as he tapped home Hernandez’s whipped cross to finish off a free-flowing move.

The latter could have then put the game to bed, but could only curl over in a promising position.

Levante failed to offer much in response, with Ivan Romero perhaps having their best chance as he dragged a shot from distance wide, with the visitors not managing a shot on target.

Unfortunately for Levante, only one team looked like scoring in the second half, and it was not them.

Espanyol should have extended their advantage before the hour mark, as Tyrhys Dolan fired agonisingly past the post, before Ryan got behind Hernandez’s effort from close range.

Karl Etta Eyong then headed over in a rare attack for the Granotes, but they were largely second-best.

The latter stages gave a chance for young Rafel Bauza to impress, and after dribbling down the wing, he squared for Dolan to swiftly turn before drilling into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area.

It was a comfortable victory for the Periquitos in the end, and they can now look back on successive LaLiga season-opening wins for the first time since 2001. Today’s result is also just their second success in nine LaLiga curtain-raisers (D4, L3).

Contrastingly, Levante are now winless in their last five season-opening matches in the top flight (D1, L4), and after also having a strong end to last season, they are back to the drawing board.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Roberto Fernandez (Espanyol)

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