Leeds United legend Pablo Hernandez suffered a managerial first this weekend as his dream start to life with Castellon came to an end in a dramatic encounter.
Pablo Hernandez was thrust into the limelight at his hometown club, CD Castellon, when he took over as interim manager.
The man known as El Mago, the Wizard in English, had enjoyed a dream start to life as Castellon manager, overseeing a four-game run that included three wins and a draw.
Hernandez has lifted Castellon with his Marcelo Bielsa-inspired philosophy, pursuing an aggressive style of football in pursuit of victory.
However, Hernandez’s unbeaten record finally came to an end in a dramatic encounter with Albacete, in which three players were shown a red card.
Pablo Hernandez applauds the Leeds United fans
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Leeds United legend Pablo Hernandez finally loses a game
Leeds dominated their game against Burnley before suffering a damaging defeat, and Hernandez saw his side do the same as they suffered a home loss against Albacete.
According to the FotMob statistics from the game, Castellon had 64% of possession and had a total xG of 2.26 to the visitors’ 2.14.
However, Castellon fell behind after five minutes, when Agus Medina headed home to move level at the top of the La Liga Segunda scoring charts.
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Castellon’s cause was not helped when midfielder Ronaldo saw red for a second bookable offence. But the home side pressed on in search of an equaliser.
The game descended into chaos in the closing stages as two more players were sent off, with Diario AS reporting: “Alberto and Higinio got into a fight and both ended up in an early bath. Alberto for hitting the Albacete player in the back, and Higinio for turning around and trying to hit Alberto with his elbow.”
It is a frustrating end to Hernandez’s unbeaten start as manager, and it remains to be seen whether he will take on the job permanently after a strong start as interim.
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Pablo Hernandez hits out at referee after first defeat
Speaking after Castellon fell to their first defeat of his time in charge, via 5maseldescuento.es, Hernandez refused to criticise his players after they continued to press for an equaliser after Ronaldo’s red card.
According to the former Leeds hero, his side fell victim to several “incomprehensible” decisions that cost his side in a difficult game, as his Castellon side were also denied a penalty for handball.
“There were specific actions, like some incomprehensible cards. We can’t control that,” Hernandez said, “I told the referee that I think he got into Albacete’s game. He allowed Albacete to play the way they wanted.
“The team tried; we took 22 shots. Obviously, with one man less, we were more exposed to transitions. Albacete is a team that comes together and plays well in transitions; it was a risk we had to take. We tried, and it didn’t work.
“The refereeing issue… There are things we don’t understand. It’s better not to talk about it. There’s nothing to blame my players for.”