Espanyol revival continues

Espanyol continued their impressive revival under coach Javier Aguirre by drawing 0-0 at Real Zaragoza.

Espanyol continued their impressive revival under coach Javier Aguirre by picking up a point from a goalless draw at Real Zaragoza on Saturday. In a match of few clear-cut opportunities, Christian Stuani came close for the visitors with a header while Zaragoza almost netted late on when Franco Zuculini's strike was deflected just over. Both teams finished the match with 10 men as Espanyol's Javi Lopez and Cristian Sapunaru of Zaragoza were handed their marching orders in quick succession after each picked up a second yellow cards in the closing stages. Espanyol will probably be the happier of the two teams with the draw as it means they continue to make progress under Aguirre. The Barcelona-based club have now lost just once in eight league matches since Aguirre replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the end of November, with that sole defeat coming at the hands of local rivals Barca. Zaragoza, meanwhile, remain without a home win in La Liga since mid-November, but can at least console themselves with the fact their three-match losing streak is now over. Defences were largely on top during the first half at La Romareda, with rival goalkeepers Roberto Jimenez and Francisco Casilla only being called into action on a few occasions. The second half looked like being a similar story until Stuani almost opened the scoring in the 64th minute with a header that needed a brilliant save from Roberto to keep out. From the resulting corner Adam Pintor shot wide before Victor Rodriguez had a chance to net but his effort was easy for Casilla. Espanyol looked to be getting the upper hand but they survived a big scare in the 77th minute when Zuculini's effort flew millimetres over after hitting a visiting defender. Two minutes after that the hosts received another boost when Espanyol lost Lopez to a second booking following a foul on Paco Montanes. However, Zaragoza had barely three minutes to make the most of their numerical advantage before they too were reduced to 10 men when Sapunaru saw yellow for a second time for his challenge on Raul Baena, and neither side could go on to force a winner.