Goalless draw at Espanyol

Espanyol and Real Valladolid played out a dull goalless draw at the Cornella-El Prat.

Espanyol and Real Valladolid played out a dull goalless draw at the Cornella-El Prat in a game where excitement and chances were in short supply. Valladolid got the point they would have wanted from the clash but Javier Aguirre's side would have left disappointed after previously picking up 16 points from a possible 18 home points since the Mexican replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the helm. It was the visitors who registered the game's first shot on target after eight minutes when Rafael Sastre's 30-yard effort was caught by Francisco Casillaby. Five minutes later Julian Omar Ramos fired wide from the left before Espanyol came into the match. Sergio Garcia's 21st-minute shot was blocked by Jesus Rueda, with Hector Moreno's close-range header from the resulting corner going wide. Espanyol suffered a blow after 37 minutes when Garcia Cristian Gomez had to be replaced by Diego Colotto after what looked like a serious injury. The long-distance efforts kept coming as Joan Verdu's right-footed effort which flew over the bar brought to an end an uninspiring opening period. Samuele Longo was replaced by Mubarak Wakaso as Aguirre's side searched for the opening goal, but the second period began as the first ended. This time it was Manucho's effort which missed the target. Wakaso failed to test Daniel Hernandez after 65 minutes, before Moreno somehow headed Simao Sabrosa's corner wide from close range. There was little else to talk of in the remaining 20 minutes as Valladolid left with the point they had come for.