This Monday, Espanyol eliminated Ponferradina on penalties, away from home, at El Toralin stadium, for the second phase of the Copa del Rey. , the visitors won the classification for the round of 16.
Espanyol’s goal was scored early in the match. With only four minutes into the game, left-back Adrià Pedrosa took advantage of the left-back in the area and hit low to open the scoring.
The home team came to be in danger in the second half with a free kick by Naranjo and a good shot by Ojeda. However, the equalizing goal only came 43 minutes into the final stage, when Brazilian veteran Yuri converted from a penalty kick and took the game to extra time.
In overtime, Espanyol rose in production and managed to better control the actions of the match, playing in the attacking field.
The physical wear and tear was evident for Ponferradina, who focused on defending themselves well and attacked the opportunities they had. With the tie persisting on the scoreboard, the game was decided on penalties.
In the penalty shootout, experienced Diego López defended Salazar and Saverio’s shots and even counted with an error by Crespo, who kicked over the crossbar.
With the three errors of the home team, Espanyol converted all their free kicks and advanced to the round of 16, while Ponferradina bids farewell to the competition.
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