Espanyol 2 - Oviedo 0

Espanyol: Mora; Cristóbal, Nando, Pochettino, Roger; Toni Velamazán, Galca, Sergio, Iván Díaz; Martín Posse, Tamudo. 4-4-2.
Oviedo: Esteban; Keita, Danjou, Martinovic, Ivo; Amieva, Onopko, Tomic, Iván Ania; Losada, Oli. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Espanyol: Iván Díaz, Martín Posse, Tamudo for Morales, Nan Ribera, Oscar / Oviedo: Ivo for Boris.

Goals:
1-0. 18. Sergio. Low free kick from left which deflected off wall and past keeper.
2-0. 58. Tamudo. Following up after Esteban fumbled Roger's long shot.

Tamudo is back. The young striker finally returned to the starting line up in the league after inspiring their victory in the UEFA cup on Thursday, and he made his mark right away, scoring the second goal and leading his team to their first home win of the season. Espanyol manager Paco Flores made three changes to his side, putting together a team that except for the suspended Arteaga and keeper Cavallero, now with Celta, was the starting line up in their cup final victory last season. Cavallero's replacement Mora was a man who was on the bench for that match and who played his football the season before that in Oviedo, and he was to prove the other star of the game as he kept out his former team-mates time and time again, particularly in the first half.

Radomir Antic's Oviedo are starting to pull together well after a shaky start, although as last year they are unbeatable at home but have only got one point to date away. Antic has used the same group of players right from the start, so much so that the other members of the squad such as Claessens are starting to complain. He only made one change for this match, and that was forced upon him due to the injury to Boris, Ivo coming in for his first game for his new club. Ivo was not new to the stadium though, having played there as a junior when in the Barcelona youth sides. Mora was called upon in the first few minutes, saving from Oli and Losada, but then Espanyol got their noses in front. Sergio, who had scored twice in the UEFA cup match midweek, struck a free kick which deflected off a player in the defensive wall past a committed Esteban. For the rest of the half the honours were shared, with both keepers making good saves.

Tamudo showed that what Espanyol have been missing was a striker with a nose for goals, being in the right place at the right time on the hour mark as Esteban pushed out a long shot from Roger. Two goals behind, Antic opted for a triple substitution, bringing on his two Rubéns and midfielder Nadj, but apart from a couple of efforts in injury time they didn't trouble Mora much. Espanyol's victory lifts them out of the relegation zone into fifteenth place, although Paco Flores cannot rest easily until they have got a few more points in the bag. He may have to sell a couple of players in winter in order for his club to buy firewood to keep out the cold, but then Japanese international Nishizawa is apparently going to join them on loan, so they should still have a strong side. Oviedo drop out of the top half of the table, but they have made a much better start than last season, and if they can do something about their away form they should be alright as well.