1/11/18 - Shaq starts vs. Espanyol, Copa del Rey

Espanyol has a tall, bald Brazilian center back named Naldo...

 

Shaq is caught upfield and Espanyol were able to attack down the left side, requiring a nice save by the keeper.

 

Shaq misses his sliding tackle, and the play leads to a goal. Levante down 3-2 on aggregate now.

 

Well...Not sounding like the most positive half.

 

Good positioning by Shaq to prevent a counter attack.

 

Another missed tackle by Shaq almost leads to a goal. He tried to make amends by taking a rising shot from 30 meters.

 

Not a good half for Shaq.

 

Thanks for the pbp, all!

 

Levante's change at the half was like for like, putting striker Emmanuel Boateng on. No, not that Emmanuel Boateng...

 

Shaq has stepped up his defending this half, and is more involved in the attack. Another sub coming in for Levante, not Coke

 

Shaq earns a corner, and it leads to another corner. Chances coming for Levante.

 

Levante defenders have been pushed up to the attacking half for the past 10 minutes. This is a good test for Shaq.

 

Shaq is pumping crosses into the box, what the announcers are calling a "Shaq-attack!"

 

Insane tackle by Shaq, just outside the box.

 

Frustrating as hell not being able to watch. Thanks for the PBP, guys.

 

Game over. Levante is out of the cup. You would have to say that the decisive goal resulted from a mistimed tackle by Shaq, while his teammates offered little help. Still, he improved with time and had some killer tackles and hardly missed a header.

 

I'm going to catch some flack - I rarely watch Spanish football, and never the middling teams. Neither team earned a fan today either. The football was messy, slow, and predictable. You can see the talent there, but it just isn't my bag.

 

Thanks to our new friend "Scuffed" here is the decisive goal:

Here's Espanyol's second. Now up 3-2 on aggregate with a 2-1 away goals advantage. Moore's tackle not decisive enough. Ugly all around from Levante. pic.twitter.com/1LZSFJtPlg

— scuffed (@scuffedpod) January 11, 2018

 

Every Levante game I have watched to see Shaq play has been a real test of my patience. It's not that players aren't technical, the games can just put you to sleep at times.

 

I wish.