Lluna Conducts Alavés’ Four-Goal Fiesta

What does a perfect performance look like? For Mohamed Lluna, it was three assists, four key passes, seven dribbles won and six tackles won as Alavés beat Espanyol 4-0 in the Spanish First Division on 2 September.

The Spanish midfielder was the match’s pulse for all 90 minutes, covering 15.3 kilometres while turning possession into danger. Alavés had 61 per cent of the ball and nine shots on target; Lluna helped give that control its edge, his passing and movement setting the rhythm of a night played with the confidence of a flamenco measure gathering speed.

George Barry finished twice, and Lluna supplied the service for three of Alavés’ goals. His influence earned a 10.0 rating and the match’s top individual honour, but the numbers only sketch the picture: Espanyol were left chasing shadows, managing two shots and one on target. Their task grew harder when Jofre Comadevall was sent off in the 83rd minute.

There was an old Alavés thread in the opposing ranks, too. José Manuel Gutiérrez, who spent six seasons at the club, and Arnal Freixa, once there for two, were now wearing Espanyol colours. For Lluna, though, sentiment made no room for hesitation: he turned the evening into a one-man invitation for Alavés to attack.

That matters for a side already running well beyond the 16th-place standing expected of them, sitting second in the Spanish First Division. The next test is A. Bilbao v Alavés on 14 September. If Lluna brings this same fire, the small club with the big heart will travel with a song already in its lungs.