Manolo González has set a hard target for Espanyol before they travel to Osasuna tomorrow: win all three matches in a demanding week and take nine points. After the draw at home against Sevilla, he said the team now wants results to match the good feelings around the squad.
The timing matters because Espanyol are entering a stretch of three consecutive matches, and the first one comes away at Osasuna. González framed the trip as the start of a week that could change the mood quickly if Espanyol turn those sensations into three points rather than one more reminder of what they still need to fix.
His clearest message was about ambition. González said there is no other target than the full nine points, even if he accepts the margins in Primera are thin and that a team can rarely control 90 minutes from start to finish. Espanyol, he said, will try to compete at the highest level and lean on their own game if the match allows it.
That is where Bryan Zaragoza enters the picture. González said the forward has had another week to improve physically, is getting better little by little and made an effort to come to Espanyol. If he starts or comes off the bench, the coach said, Zaragoza will go out full throttle. That gives Espanyol an extra option at a moment when they are trying to turn pressure into rhythm and rhythm into points.
González also pushed back against the idea that Espanyol’s recent lack of ball rhythm came from the pitch. He said the issue came from their own situations, and that the staff have worked during the week on details they detected in the first league matches. The idea has been to keep the good parts and sharpen the others, not to tear anything up.
There is still a catch. González said he will not reveal the starting eleven before kickoff, even though he wants everyone ready to play and clear about their role. That leaves the Osasuna game with one obvious unknown: who begins and who waits, even as the coach asks for a maximum-level response from the first minute.
He did, however, give clues about the options. González said he trusts Riedel as a central defender who can play any match, and he said Hartman is still adapting to the pace but can help with his left foot and crossing. He also described the Osasuna meeting as a different match from last season’s because both teams have changed coaches and players, which makes the immediate task about the present, not the memory of the past.
González, who replaced Ramis on the Espanyol bench, said the team is in good shape and has good sensations. The next answer will come on the field in Osasuna, and for now the only certainty is that Espanyol are not going there to settle for less than three points.
