Tyrhys Dolan’s season is already carrying a different feel. The 24-year-old scored in Espanyol’s 3-0 win over Levante in the LaLiga opener, and the goal arrived at a useful time: just before Saturday evening’s meeting with Real Madrid, a club that can expose any side still searching for its best shape.
That matters because Dolan is not treating this as a simple repeat of last season. He said he is not the same player he was a year ago, and that comes from experience as much as confidence. After leaving Championship club Blackburn Rovers for his first year in Spanish football, he spent much of last season on the right wing for Espanyol, often starting “pretty much on the touchline,” as he put it, hanging wide and serving more as a provider than a regular finisher.
The numbers from that role tell part of the story. Dolan said his assist output was much better than his goal output last season, which is why the change in position feels so significant now. On the left wing, he believes he can cut in, get more shots off and become more dangerous. In his words, it gives him more avenues to his game. That is not just a personal preference. It changes how an opponent has to defend him, because it forces a decision every time he receives the ball: does he go outside, come inside, cross early or shoot?
A better fit for the player Espanyol have now
Dolan’s point is straightforward. The left side suits a player who wants to attack space on the inside rather than live permanently on the chalk of the touchline. For Espanyol, that could matter across the season, not just in one opening-night win. A winger who can threaten both as a creator and as a scorer is harder to contain, especially when the team is trying to build on a strong start after last season’s swing from chasing Europe in the winter to worrying about relegation in the spring.
There is also a mental side to this opening. Dolan said the start felt like a reward for the work that had been done, and a confidence boost for both him and the team. Espanyol spent much of pre-season in England, and he said his mum and dad were at every single game, which made the return feel especially meaningful. He added that being in Barcelona keeps him in work mode, but that time away from football can make you miss it. That is the sort of detail that usually matters most when a season is just beginning: the player is not only sharper, he sounds settled.
Still, Saturday evening is a different test. Real Madrid are the 36-time champions of Spain, and Espanyol already know what elite opposition looks like after Dolan’s first year in the country. He has faced Real Madrid and Barcelona before, so this will not be unfamiliar territory. But it will be revealing. If the left-wing role keeps giving him cleaner shooting positions, and if Espanyol can keep the kind of energy they showed against Levante, then Dolan’s opening goal may end up looking like the first sign of a bigger season rather than a single bright moment.
For now, though, it is simple enough: Espanyol got off and running, Dolan got on the scoresheet, and the next step is a much bigger one.
