Espanyol manager on refereeing ahead of the Barcelona clash: We won’t put a bandage on before the wound

Espanyol arrive at the Camp Nou flying the banner “Nothing is impossible in football”, and they head to the City Derby against bitter rivals Barcelona today, driven by manager Manolo González’s resolve to seize this historic chance to secure survival and end their barren run at the Blaugrana’s fortress.

“We’ve done it against the big teams and we’ll do it again,” he stated.

In a confident pre-match press conference, the coach insisted that his side is unfazed by the hosts’ rich form under Hansi Flick, underlining that they carry the “DNA” required to topple the giants.

“We’ve already proven this season that we can beat any opponent; we did it against Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, so why shouldn’t we do it again today?”

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He stressed that victory at Camp Nou would be the crowning moment of his managerial career, not only because it is a derby, but because it would secure near-certain La Liga safety for the ‘Albericos’.

It was a clever message.

Amid the tense atmosphere and repeated complaints from the Catalan side regarding recent refereeing decisions, González responded with clever diplomacy, defusing pressure and refusing to engage in the politics of “crying before the game”.

“We’re not losing sleep over Barça’s refereeing; my focus is solely on my team,” he stated. “We won’t cry before we’re hurt. We trust the referee’s integrity and hope the football does the talking.”

The Espanyol boss also set out his game plan, stressing that winning the “battle of battles” in midfield, maintaining defensive solidity and striking quickly on the break will be crucial.

He concluded: “We cannot just sit back and defend against Barça; we have to hurt them on the counter-attack if we want to come away with the three points.”

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