Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez praised his team’s defensive performance while questioning the refereeing criteria following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
Espanyol managed to limit Real Madrid for much of the game before eventually conceding twice. Gonzalez felt his side executed its defensive plan well until the latter stages and argued that both goals came primarily from mistakes made by his own players.
“Up until the 70th minute, it was what we had worked on: preventing them from getting
behind us. We defended quite well. The goals were our mistakes, more than their merit. Mbappé was the most disruptive player, but the team defended well overall.”
Gonzalez acknowledged that Espanyol had difficulty creating enough threat on the counter-attack, particularly as fatigue began to affect his players. His substitutions were intended to give the visitors more opportunities in transition, but Real Madrid increasingly pinned Espanyol into their own half.
“We lacked a better counter-attack. The players were tired and we noticed it. The substitutions were aimed at counter-attacking, but it was harder for us to get out of our own half. When we did find them, they suffered. Defensively, we were solid.”
The Espanyol coach also addressed the performance of the officials. Gonzalez made it clear that he did not believe the refereeing determined the result, but he was unhappy with what he viewed as an inconsistent standard between the two teams.
“The refereeing didn’t affect the result, but what bothers me is the criteria. We’re not a team that wastes time, but every throw-in was counted against us, every foul was called for the slightest contact… Real Madrid’s fouls weren’t counted. The criteria weren’t applied equally.”
Gonzalez expanded on those complaints when discussing how the game was officiated when Espanyol attempted to press Real Madrid. He also pointed to Lozano receiving a yellow card for protesting and suggested that some players are afforded more leeway when speaking to referees.
“It drives you crazy under pressure. When you’re pressing, the slightest thing is a foul, but on the other side it’s not… it’s frustrating. I’m happy with the players because they protested, but they didn’t cross the line. We know what we can’t do. Some players are allowed more than others. Lozano protested and got a yellow card. There are players, not just today’s, who protest and get away with it.”
Gonzalez was also asked about Jose Mourinho’s comments regarding the treatment of Vinicius Junior. The Real Madrid coach had spoken about opponents targeting the Brazilian, but Gonzalez rejected the suggestion that Espanyol had gone into the match looking to provoke or excessively foul Vinicius.
“Mourinho’s comments about Vinicius getting bullied? If we can’t touch him… This is football. I didn’t see any excessive tackles on him. We can go back to the Maradona era. Nowadays, with cameras, there are no serious fouls that go unpunished. We didn’t go looking for trouble or provoke him. They’re simply part of the game. At least here we didn’t go there to provoke him.”
Despite leaving without a point, Gonzalez emphasized his satisfaction with Espanyol’s defensive work and his players’ response in a difficult match, while reserving his criticism for what he believed was an uneven refereeing standard.
