Day full of nerves in the fight for salvation. Granada dropped to the second tier after being unable to beat Espanyol (0-0) at their stadium, while Mallorca and Cádiz stuck to it, beating Osasuna (0-2) and Alavés (0-0) in Pamplona :1) won to stay one more year in the highest category. Granada striker Jorge Molina missed a penalty in the 72nd minute that could have saved his team. Those of Aitor Karanka who had the most opportunities to save themselves fell to second place.
Granada ended their sixth relegation to the second division. Fear and tension took over the heads and legs of the Granada players, who felt the whistles of their men in a second half as Espanyol grew more and more in their game. The key game of the game came in the 72nd minute: Jorge Molina missed a penalty, which he missed to the right of Diego López after VAR had warned Hernández Hernández before Cabrera’s handball to Collado’s cross.
Lozano’s 77th-minute goal for Cádiz in Vitoria felt like a real bombshell in Los Cármenes just after Molina missed the penalty. The faces of the Granada fans in the stands were deeply saddened. His team couldn’t cope with a very serious Espanyol, who defended well and even reached Maximiano’s goal at risk. The Portuguese goalkeeper was one of his side’s best players who bled to death as the minutes went by. The huge invigorating impact Aitor Karanka had on the bench of a Granada who looked dead on arrival was diluted in the last two days, in which the Andalusian side lost to Betis and, most importantly, failed to beat Espanyol in a game in which they all had advantages to remain in the First Division.
Breath was held at the Andalusian stadium when Sánchez Martínez missed a penalty for Espino in favor of Alavés in Vitoria. The VAR informed the referee who checked the game on the monitor and decided not to award a penalty which, had it been converted by Alavés, would have saved Granada and condemned Cádiz. Karanka’s team tried until the end. Bacca hit the post in the 93rd minute but life eluded the locals who were relegated to the second tier without scoring against Espanyol.
A big blow for Granada, who achieved their last promotion in 2019 at the hands of Diego Martínez, the coach with whom they finished seventh this season to play in the Europa League. In Europe they reached the quarterfinals of the second continental competition last year and also finished in a good ninth place. Diego Martínez did not renew this summer and neither Robert Moreno nor Rubén Torrecilla and Karanka could avoid the Granada debacle.
A lone Cádiz goal against Alavés in Vitoria saved the Andalusians. Sergio’s were a flan in the first part but they improved later. The nervousness weighed on the Cadiz footballers, who hardly played properly. Fear and nervousness engulfed the competitiveness of Sergio’s team. Everything changed in the second part. Bad news came from Pamplona and Cádiz went in search of a wonderful goal. Lozano’s goal came after his teammates missed many chances. Happiness swept over the many Cadista fans who were expelled to the Basque Country.
Mallorca didn’t speculate in El Sadar, knowing that victory would ensure durability, disregarding the results of Cadiz and Granada, and they defeated Osasuna 2-0. A goal from Ángel Rodríguez at the end of the break (m. 46), after a nice collective play and a delicious touch from Muriqi, and a second goal from Grenier (m. 83) who picked up a cancellation from Sergio Herrera with a header from Abdón Prats attested to the good consistency of the Aguirre team.
Mallorca played determined and aggressive at El Sadar. Abdón Prats’ goal in the 92nd minute of their last game against Rayo had an invigorating effect on the players and on a well-represented fan at El Sadar. The game was relatively calm for Aguirre’s side after Budimir missed three shots
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