Espanyol sack 3rd head coach of season

Espanyol fired Abelardo Fernandez on Saturday, making him the third head coach whom the relegation-threatened club has shepherded through the exit this season.

Sporting director Francisco Rufete will oversee the Catalonian side for its remaining seven matches of the 2019-20 La Liga campaign. Espanyol are at the bottom of Spain's top flight and eight points adrift of safety.

David Gallego and Pablo Machin were sacked in October and December, respectively.

Espanyol returned after the three-month hiatus with a 2-0 win over Alaves and a respectable 0-0 draw at Getafe. However, back-to-back defeats to Levante and Real Betis proved to be the final straw for the club.