This Friday C.D. Leganés defeated Real Zaragoza (2-1) at the Estadio Municipal Butarque on matchday 27 of the LaLiga SmartBank season. Cissé and José Arnaiz scored for the pepineros in the second half, while Iván's last minute goal cut the deficit for the maños.
Arnaiz and Omeruo had the clearest chances of the first half
C.D. Leganés made no changes to their starting XI from the past two weeks, with the sole exception of academy-product Cissé stepping in to replace Juan Muñoz. The match started intensely as both sides hunted the opposition's goal, with the first chance falling toJosé Arnaiz in the 16' with a right-footed strike from the edge of the 12-yard box that could not find the net. Narváez offered the zaragocista reply in the 21’ but Omeruo's block steered any trouble away.
In the 36’ Arnaiz leapt onto a deflection from Rubén Pardo's shot to shoot himself, but Cristian Álvarez's desperate dive was enough to send the ball for a corner kick. Lastly, in the 44’, Omeruo headed down Quintillà's left flank cross but the zaragocista woodwork did not look favourably on him. The teams retired to the dressing rooms after the first 45 minutes, the score unchanged.
Cissé opened the scoring on his starting debut
Mehdi Nafti did make two adjustments to the blanquiazules over the break, substituting Randjelović for Shibasaki and Palencia for Nyom. The seal was broken in the 51', as Rubén Pardo opened up the play to set a rolling ball for Cissé in the right corner of the box, with the Guinean making a lethal connection on his right to bank the ball across goal and into the far side netting. The homegrown footballer beat Cristian Álvarez between the sticks to make it 1-0 on his debut in the starting XI.
Cissé's confidence from scoring was evident as he pressed on and narrowly missed a second chance in the 57'. On the hour mark, Róber Ibáñez made his official Leganés return as he replaced Recio. Omeruo, in the 61’, was the next to test Cristian Álvarez. Shortly after, Qasmi came on as the fourth pepinero substitute for Bautista up front. Gaku, in the 74’, probed goal with a long-range effort but, despite his inaccuracy, Leganés continued to chase a second.
Arnaiz doubles the lead before Iván cuts it short
The definitive moment came in the 77’ as Arnaiz managed to run in behind the defense, dribble Cristian Álvarez to the ground and finally drive the ball into the top right. It was his third of the season, but he was substituted in the 83' to give Bárcenas the opportunity for some minutes.
There was still time for damage to be done, which Real Zaragoza proved in the 89' after Iván connected with the end of a cross to poke the ball past Riesgo. Despite losing out on what would have been a third consecutive clean sheet, the clock did not fail Leganés again. The final whistle blew soon after to leave the pepineros with back-to-back wins at home, 33 points on the table and plenty of confidence to take with them to Lezama on Monday 21st February, when they place S.D. Amorebieta at 21:00 (CET).
