CORNELLÀ DE LLOBREGAT, Spain (Interstat) — Espanyol and Real Oviedo opened their La Liga campaigns with a 1-1 draw on Monday at RCDE Stadium.

Real Oviedo substitute Alberto Reina opened the scoring in the eighth minute, capitalizing on an assist from Cyril Ngonge. Espanyol forward Kike García leveled the match in the 36th minute, finishing a pass from midfielder Pol Lozano.

The result defied pre-match projections that heavily favored Espanyol. Interstat’s ELO system gave the home side an 82.40 percent probability to win, though its simulator correctly predicted the 1-1 scoreline.

The physical match featured five yellow cards, with Ngonge booked early for Oviedo. Both teams remain unbeaten with identical records after the opening fixture.