There was silence then applause: Gerard Moreno returns to hang-out Espanyol eventually | Villarreal

He made his different dad mad and a policeman put his head in his palms, however at the least Gerard Moreno stated sorry and in the long run they couldn't assist however forgive him. The truth is, they had been blissful for him, the defeated Espanyol followers who briefly fell silent when he harm them standing handy him an ovation when he headed off, the lengthy stroll from the pitch ending with one other win, a bit like outdated instances. On Saturday night time, the Villarreal striker scored for the third week in a row; it was the primary time in two years he had a run like that, his greatest days completed or so it goes. At 33, it was additionally the primary time he had ever scored in opposition to the workforce the place all of it started. Which felt proper someway, even when it was improper.

This was a giant night time. Espanyol got here on to the pitch with rescue canine, the 2 groups posing collectively, each man in blue and white with a mutt of their own: Marko Dimitrovic led an enormous alsatian, Ty Dolan held a husky and Roberto Fernández petted a black pet. Defeated solely as soon as at house, these are one of the best days they've had for years. The membership whose former proprietor, remote-control automobile impresario Chen Yansheng, had promised Champions League soccer in three years and as a substitute presided over two relegations, are below new administration. They've the preferred supervisor anybody can keep in mind, a former bus driver and the embodiment of what they need to be. They usually kicked off in a European place. Win and they'd climb to inside two factors of their opponents and the ultimate Champions League slot.

Villarreal although got here with Moreno, the opponent that was too briefly theirs. “I'm biased however he's the most effective strikers round,” the coach had stated the day earlier than – and that was the Espanyol coach. And simply because Manolo González is biased that doesn't imply he's improper; if anybody knew the injury Moreno may do, it's him. Raised in Santa Perpètua, the Morenos had been a footballing household: Gerard's dad was a striker, his brother a No 10, and he was a little bit of each. A bit higher than each too, he joined Espanyol at eight. When he reached the under-16s, although, Moreno was reduce. A 15-year-old who already acted like knowledgeable, critical, slightly timid and fully missing in ego, he was satisfied to affix the under-19s at third-tier Badalona. His coach there – his second father, he stated – was González, whose journey to the highest took rather a lot longer.

This can relaunch your profession, González informed Moreno, and he wasn't improper about that both. The season with the Badalona juvenil began with a 4-1 win in opposition to Espanyol B and ended with Moreno having scored 41 instances in 32 video games. Actual Madrid got here calling however by then he had given his phrase to Villarreal, and so it started once more, down the east coast. On the finish of his first full season within the Villarreal first workforce, when he scored seven instances, he obtained the possibility to return to Espanyol. However after three years at house, the monetary stress informed, actuality intervening to see him return to Villarreal in 2018, the place he has been ever since, for some time changing into one of the best striker in Spain, roots all the time remembered.

Soccer has left its mark on him, the scar on his face brought on by falling off a aim when he had climbed as much as accumulate a ball that landed on high of the web, leaving him needing 27 stitches, and Saturday confirmed that he has left his mark on Espanyol too. As a ballboy, certainly one of Moreno's fondest recollections was celebrating a aim with Raul Tamudo, the membership's biggest striker. Twice the winner of the Zarra trophy as the highest scoring Spaniard in La Liga, over his profession there could be 108 of his personal to have fun, 39 of them for Espanyol. And but in 11 years away, he had by no means had one to have fun in opposition to them. In a dozen years within the high flight Moreno had obtained targets in opposition to each one else – just lately promoted Actual Oviedo are actually the one primera facet in opposition to whom he hasn't discovered the web – however not his personal workforce. When eventually he did have purpose to, scoring on the eighth try this weekend, there nonetheless wouldn't be any celebration. That a lot, he stated, was all the time clear.

That they had been enjoying 41 minutes when Moreno turned on the sting of the world and struck a primary time shot into the nook to provide Villarreal a lead which Alberto Moleiro doubled within the second half. The ball had barely hit the web when he lifted his palms like a buyer within the Hawthorn Grill. Because it did, over on the touchline, cameras caught a moustachioed mosso de esquadra, a Catalan copper, cowl his face, gutted. To his left, Espanyol supervisor González was fuming. His former participant, the child who got here from Catalan native soccer and was an Espanyol fan like him, had completed for them. So too had his defenders. For a second there was silence within the stadium after which there was applause.

No less than it was him. No less than he had left them till final, and apologised when the inevitable lastly occurred. No less than this was a manner of mutual displaying appreciation, sharing a second a very long time coming and, some feared, quickly to be gone – to indicate blissful they had been to see him again. It was tempting to assume the one factor as dangerous as ever scoring in opposition to Espanyol was by no means scoring in opposition to Espanyol, and that had gave the impression to be coming nearer.

“Solely damage has stopped him being the nationwide workforce's striker,” González had stated. There was a listing of muscular issues, continuity denied. The person who scored 18 league targets in 2019-20 and 23 the yr after, then tallied 9, seven, 10 and three. For the reason that begin of final season Moreno had missed 176 days via damage. At 33 and with Villarreal utilizing the gross sales of Álex Baena, Yeremy Pino and Thierno Barry to spend closely in the summertime, Georges Mikautadze changing into the costliest signing of their historical past at €31m, Tani Oluwaseyi arriving too, final season's high scorer Ayoze Pérez and Nicolas Pépé arriving a summer time earlier, it appeared that his time is perhaps up. All of the extra so when he was pressured off at half-time on the opening day, a sort of miserable deja vu about all of it. He hadn't scored a aim from open play since that 5-3 win over Barcelona in January 2024.

However then it occurred: Moreno returned in a 2-2 draw with Betis. The next week, he scored the opener in opposition to Rayo Vallecano. The week after he did the identical in opposition to Valencia. Now he had completed it in opposition to Espanyol. In three matches he had scored as many targets as in the entire of final season. Match once more, in 313 minutes, he had greater than any of Villarreal's different centre forwards, nonetheless completely different, nonetheless cleverer, nonetheless extra intuitive, nonetheless simply, nicely, higher than anybody else. And everybody else is sweet too: all that within the workforce that moved briefly in to second, a win away from their greatest begin. “26 factors is unimaginable,” the coach Marcelino García Toral stated.

It's also a actuality, González insisted. Outdoors the highest three, nobody can compete with Villarreal for funds. In the summertime solely Actual Madrid spent extra (though Villarreal's internet spend noticed them submit a revenue). Espanyol's greatest participant, the full-back Carlos Romero, is on mortgage from Villarreal and Espanyol didn't need to pay the €150,000 to launch him: his alternative was burned up by Tajon Buchanan for the second aim. There has all the time been a purpose Moreno wasn't there for longer too. “I'd like to work with Gerard once more,” González had stated, “however for now the economics say he's he's out of attain of Espanyol.”

As a substitute, all they may do was applaud, in order that they did, blissful for him and hoping that someday their paths can cross once more. “I spent a few years and I'm so grateful for the love they present me,” Moreno stated on the finish, the stands empty now however for a gaggle of Espanyol supporters singing the title of the person who had scored in opposition to them eventually. “There's numerous emotion each time I come right here, and a number of respect. Now that I really feel good once more, all I need to do is take pleasure in this second.” And with that he left, the identical barely shy striker he all the time was slipping down the tunnel and out of sight, waving slightly awkwardly as he went.