Manolo González explains why Dmitrovic was left on the bench

Manolo González explained why Àngel Fortuño started instead of Marko Dmitrovic: the Serbian goalkeeper had suffered a back injury during the week, and the coach felt it was preferable to play Fortuño, even though he had not trained. González also said Fortuño had been “perfect”, that he could find no fault in his display and that he could do nothing about the goal conceded.

The explanation came after RCD Espanyol let victory slip away at La Rosaleda, conceding a goal from a defensive action that Manolo González criticised in stark terms. “We defended terribly, and that condemns you to not taking all three points,” the coach lamented.

Manolo also praised the first half, saying his team could have been 3-0 ahead at the break. He explained that Javi Hernández had to be substituted because he was coming back from an injury sustained with the under-21 side. From that point, he said, Espanyol stopped counterattacking as effectively, before defending better. He nevertheless regretted that his team did not finish the final move while attacking.

The coach also praised Bryan Zaragoza, who scored the goal: “The goal is what Bryan is all about. While he had the fuel, we knew the threat he posed. That gives us life. He was very tired when we took him off.”