Espanyol’s season finished on a high, but it was generally a slog for the Catalan club. They never really looked like they’d be relegated, but they were never close to challenging for European qualification either, and they spent most of the year in mid-table wilderness, spending all but two weeks between 11th and 16th.
Quique Sanchez Flores remained in charge as coach after finishing the 2016/17 season well, but his style of football wasn’t very impressive, and it wasn’t especially effective either.
Espanyol were hard to beat with Sanchez Flores’s 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 systems, but they didn’t win many matches, and they finished the season with 13 draws, the joint most. Whenever they did win, it was usually because of some individual brilliance from forward Gerard Moreno, who was relied upon too much.
In January Sanchez Flores was the subject of interest from Premier League side Stoke City and was believed to be considering the move, before ultimately staying. Yet it seemed that this interest had been a distraction, as Espanyol embarked on a seven-match winless run at the end of January and start of February, being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona in the process.
They then had another poor run in April and Sanchez Flores was sacked, with B team coach David Gallego promoted. He revitalised the team and they took 13 points from their final five matches, which makes their season look much better than it actually was.
Despite Gallego’s success, Espanyol are reportedly looking to sign a new coach. It’s important that they get this appointment right, as they are set to lose important players like goalkeeper Pau Lopez, left-back Aaron and striker Moreno in the summer and they don’t have the funds to replace them.
