Leandro Cabrera's goal and Ángel Fortuño's saves gave Espanyol a 1-0 win at the Estadio de la Cerámica, with B-team coach Sergio García on the touchline. The victory came three days after Manolo González was sacked and before Eder Sarabia's official presentation.

Sergio García, the B-team coach, led the side from the touchline at the Estadio de la Cerámica. The game was the opening match of the LaLiga round.

The result came three days after a change at the top. Manolo González had led the first team in 107 official matches, Libertad Digital reported. He went into that cup tie with only one point from Espanyol’s previous 15 available in LaLiga.

Fortuño’s saves protected Cabrera’s goal against a dominant Villarreal

Villarreal controlled the ball for long spells. They completed 503 accurate passes to Espanyol’s 263. They also had 14 shots to Espanyol’s 5. Their expected goals figure was 0.92, against 0.26 for the visitors.

Espanyol thought they had taken the lead first. Roberto Fernández had a goal cancelled by VAR in the 50th minute. The review found he had held Pau Navarro before scoring. Fernández has six goals in LaLiga this season.

Cabrera then scored in the 60th minute. Bryan Zaragoza provided the assist. From there Espanyol defended their lead. Ángel Fortuño’s goalkeeping earned him the match’s top player rating of 8.31.

Villarreal had problems before half-time. Gerard Moreno went off with a muscle injury in the 17th minute and Nicolas Pépé replaced him. Foyth and Diatta had already been ruled out late. Iñigo Pérez’s side finished without a goal despite their territorial control.

The match was competitive without being dirty. Each team received three yellow cards and there were no red cards.

Sarabia takes charge with Deportivo next at home

Espanyol named Eder Sarabia head coach on Wednesday 28 October. He could not take charge at La Cerámica because he is serving a two-match suspension, Ara reported.

Sarabia’s new staff includes former centre-back Álvaro González. He played for Espanyol from 2014 to 2017 before moving to Olympique de Marseille.

The win leaves Espanyol 12th with 11 points from their opening games. Villarreal are 10th with 12 points.

Villarreal host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday 3 November. Espanyol’s next LaLiga match is at home to Deportivo La Coruña on Saturday 7 November.