Real Madrid vs Espanyol; 5 Talking Points

#4. Quique Sanchez Flores shows the value of admitting mistakes and making early changes

Flores was quick to make changes in the second half

After seeing his team get toyed around by Real Madrid for the first forty-five minutes, Quique Sanchez Flores would have been forgiven if he'd sent out the same team with the instructions of "park-the-bus" and "don't you dare let them score any more goals" but that's not how they do things in Spain and Flores is not a man to pull his punches.

Many managers shy from making changes before the hour mark in the fear they might be called out as having made a mistake in the initial team selection, but Flores was quick to see what his team was lacking and added the bite and attack-mindedness of Marc Navarro and Sergio Garcia during the half-time break.

In the second half, the two substitutes played a major role in pressing high and fast, and made Espanyol look like a whole different team - with a little more luck, they might even have walked out of the Bernabeu with a point! They may not have won or salvaged a draw, but Flores certainly proved the value of making changes when they are needed!

Keep playing like this, and Espanyol could soon return to the halcyon days when they were regularly knocking on the doors of European football regularly.