After 143 days of anguish and countless sleepless nights, Manolo González finally found his liberation. On a Wednesday evening in May, at the 92nd mi...
After 143 days of anguish and countless sleepless nights, Manolo González finally found his liberation. On a Wednesday evening in May, at the 92nd minute of the 19th league fixture of 2026, the Catalan club Espanyol did something extraordinary: they won. And when they won, they went absolutely wild. A goal up against Athletic Club, Espanyol had been rattled by a late Gorka Guruzeta header that struck the post, a moment that seemed destined to summon the familiar fatalism which has haunted them for months. The home crowd, numbering 29,943, whistled furiously, begging for the suffering to end. And then, finally, it did. Ramon Terrats, a boyhood Espanyol supporter, nodded the ball forward. Kike García, the only surviving member of the squad born in the 1980s and a striker whose rugged 6ft 1in, 12 stone frame and old school style have earned him the nickname "the labourer of goals", had only been on the pitch for six minutes as a substitute. He ran onto the loose ball, kept his composure, and guided a precise shot past Unai Simón. The clock read 91.06. The scoreboard read 2:0. The table now reads 14th place, 42 points, 11 wins. And as for Manolo González, the head coach broke down and wept. "You have to be strong in life but, bloody hell, we all have limits," González said after the match, his voice cracking. He had reached his limit, but now, on this night, he was released. The victory changes everything in La Liga. �s relegation race. For a club that had not tasted victory in 143 days, this result is not just three points; it is a lifeline, a statement, and a warning to every team below them. In the scheme of things, Espanyol have given a good account of themselves when it mattered most. Their resilience was clinical when it needed to be, and their defence, though shaken, held firm in the face of Athletic Club. �s late pressure. At the end of the day, the powers that be at the club will now look at the remaining fixtures with renewed hope. The labourer of goals, Kike García, has given them a reason to believe. Back home in Lagos, at the popular viewing centre in Surulere, the atmosphere was electric. Fans who had gathered to watch the La Liga action erupted when García. �s shot hit the back of the net. One man in a Barcelona jersey, a known Espanyol sympathiser, fell to his knees in the middle of the room, shouting praises to God. Another supporter, who had been dozing off in the corner, jumped up and knocked over a bottle of Maltina. The entire hall roared in unison, chanting the names of the heroes. For them, this was more than a win. It was a resurrection.
