Match report
Ten-man Elche find their first win as Niño strikes twice
Elche ended their six-game wait for a league win by beating Espanyol 3–1 despite playing almost the entire match with ten men. Fer Niño scored twice after Federico Redondo’s early dismissal, and Germán Valera added the goal that secured the victory. Elche head into the international break with five points from seven matches.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data and the sources linked below.
Elche’s coach had called for greater maturity in closing out games after the late defeat by Real Madrid. That lesson faced a test when Víctor Chust’s own goal gave Espanyol a route back, but Elche restored their two-goal cushion through Valera on the counterattack. Elche’s coach later described the win as a reward for the whole team following the improvement shown against Athletic and Madrid.
For Espanyol, an early numerical advantage became another game spent chasing. Their coach apologised to supporters and called it the worst performance of his time at the club, identifying poor defensive transitions and a loss of competitiveness. An own goal was their only return, and successive defeats leave them on seven points with the international break to address those problems.
Report sources
- LaLiga — Espanyol vs Elche, full match commentary
- Elche CF — Espanyol vs Elche, official match centre
- Elche — Martín Anselmi: Siento orgullo, hemos estado presentes ante un rival de mucha jerarquía
- Espanyol —2–1: Dos caras
- Elche CF — Madrid recap and international-break context
- AS — Anselmi: La primera victoria llegó a lo Elche
- AS — Manolo González: Ha sido el peor partido desde que estoy en el Espanyol
Elche won 3–1 away against Espanyol (half-time 0–2).
Espanyol met Elche in the La Liga (Regular Season - 7). Kick-off was Friday, 18 September 2026, 19:00 UTC at RCDE Stadium. Referee: Jon Ander Gonzalez Esteban.
Key moments
- 6' Red card: Federico Redondo
- 26' Goal: Fer Niño (assist: Roy Revivo) — 0–1 · Watch Fer Niño's goal video (26')
- 29' Goal: Fer Niño (assist: Roy Revivo) — 0–2 · Watch Fer Niño's goal video (29')
- 72' Goal (own goal): Víctor Chust — 1–2 · Watch Víctor Chust's goal video (72')
- 78' Goal: Germán Valera (assist: Tete Morente) — 1–3 · Watch Germán Valera's goal video (78')
Starting line-ups
Espanyol (4-2-3-1)
Elche (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Espanyol 44%, the draw 28%, Elche 28%. It finished Espanyol 1–3 Elche.
Level sides, home ground holds off Elche's control of the ball — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and La Liga home advantage gives Espanyol the lean. The draw at 28% is what level sides usually produce.
Why Espanyol in front?
Home ground, mostly. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1758 to 1725. Sides this close won 45.6% of 14,657 home games (draw 26.5%, visitors 27.9%). La Liga home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to away wins (28.3% vs 30.2%). La Liga homes won 46.6% of 6,139 games vs 44.9% across all 100,280 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why only 44%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Elche hold 8 more possession points (54 to 46 in recent games) — and between equals, control has been worth something. Between evenly-matched sides, when the visitors held this control edge the home team's win rate fell to 40.3% across 5,594 games, from 43.9% when styles were level.
Why is the draw second, level with the Elche win?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.9 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 25,109. The control factor adds 1.3 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Espanyol have rebuilt the eleven — fewer of last season's regular starters are still starting. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). Espanyol are missing 1 regular starter — Omar El Hilali — about 22% of their usual starting-XI weight. A body count alone told us nothing. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Espanyol vs Elche final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this La Liga fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Fer Niño's goal against Espanyol (26').
- Watch Fer Niño's goal against Espanyol (29').
- Watch Víctor Chust's own goal video (72').
- Watch Germán Valera's goal against Espanyol (78').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Espanyol 1–3 Elche. Explore more on the Espanyol and Elche team pages or the La Liga page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Espanyol vs Elche?
Elche won 3–1 away against Espanyol (half-time 0–2).
›Who scored in Espanyol vs Elche?
Fer Niño (26') for Elche; Fer Niño (29') for Elche; Víctor Chust (72') (own goal) for Espanyol; Germán Valera (78') for Elche.
›Where can I watch Espanyol vs Elche highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Espanyol 1–3 Elche are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Espanyol and Elche?
Espanyol and Elche have met 10 times — 3 wins for Espanyol, 2 wins for Elche and 5 draws.