Why I Dug Into Those Madrid vs Espanyol Numbers
So yesterday I got curious about how Real Madrid always smashes Espanyol. Wanted to see if the stats back up what my eyes see every season. Grabbed my laptop around breakfast time, fired up some music, and started hunting down numbers from their old matches.
First thing – tracking down reliable match records was tougher than scoring a penalty against Courtois. Some sites had conflicting data, others missed key details like yellow cards or exact dates. Took me like two hours just comparing sources, copying results into my spreadsheet, double-checking each entry like a referee watching VAR.
Here’s how my messy process went:
- Started scribbling down seasons since 2010 in a notepad first – felt like writing on a cafe napkin
- Punched numbers into Excel later, squinting at tiny font sizes until my eyes hurt
- Kept finding typos where 2-1 became 3-1 or draws vanished completely
- Made separate tabs for home/away games because that’s where things got spicy
Cross-referencing nearly broke me. Found three different records for their 2017 clash – one site said 2-0, another claimed 1-1, third swore it was 3-1. Ended up checking YouTube highlights like a detective reviewing CCTV footage. Turns out they played TWICE that month and I’d mashed both games together like bad paella.
What the numbers yelled when I finally untangled them:
- Madrid straight-up dominates at home – like 80% win rate since 2015
- But at Espanyol’s ground? Shockingly close! Almost half those games decided by one goal
- Total red cards between them could fill a deck – always fiery when they meet
- Goals dry up around March matches for some reason – still puzzled about that
By 4PM my spreadsheet looked like a toddler finger-painted with statistics. Didn’t trust conditional formatting, so I highlighted key wins in mustard yellow, draws in puke green. Wrote notes beside weird results like “VAR controversy?” or “Ronaldo hattrick confirmed”.
Finished around midnight after ordering greasy burgers. Learned that stats never tell the whole story – like that time Espanyol held them 0-0 with nine men bleeding on the pitch. Numbers won’t show guts. Next time I’m tracking manager changes too, because those numbers shifted when Benitez got sacked mid-season.