Overview
- Fermín López came off the bench to set up late goals for Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski in a 2-0 victory at RCDE Stadium.
- Joan Garcia delivered multiple decisive saves and kept a clean sheet against Espanyol, his boyhood club, in his return.
- Hansi Flick thanked Garcia publicly and called him one of the best goalkeepers in the world, a view echoed by Espanyol’s Marko Dmitrovic.
- Espanyol’s five-match league winning run ended as coach Manolo González and captain Edu Expósito rued missed chances and finishing.
- Hostile fan displays targeted Garcia outside and inside the stadium, yet his performance was widely credited as decisive in the result.