A storm swept through Estadio Abanca-Riazor on Friday night, and it was unmistakably blue and white. Deportivo La Coruña, with echoes of old glories flooding the air, dispatched SD Huesca 4-0 in a Segunda División performance that felt less like a league fixture and more like the staking of a claim: not merely for promotion, but for a return to relevance. This emphatic result, in the sixth match week, is an early sign that Deportivo may finally have found both the resolve and authority demanded from a side with their history—and that La Liga, long deprived of its Galician giants, might soon welcome them back.

A Night of Dominance—the Numbers, the Narrative

Before kickoff, the table showed Deportivo in second and Huesca sixth, both eyeing the pack of teams jostling for early ascendancy. But any parity on paper was soon rendered irrelevant. From the opening whistle, Deportivo pressed with purpose, their revamped 5-3-2 formation squeezing the life from Huesca’s attempts to build through midfield.

Key to the night’s rhythm was the tempo set by the midfield trio—Luismi Cruz, Mario Soriano, and Diego Villares—who dictated the progression and movement of the ball. Their interplay allowed the wingbacks, Ximo Navarro and Giacomo Quagliata, to overlap and provide consistent width, with David Mella on the left especially relentless in transition.

Huesca, missing midfield anchors Javi Mier and Jordi Martin through injury, simply could not match Deportivo's energy or organization. Attempts to release lone striker Sergi Enrich came to nothing, as Deportivo’s back three, marshaled by Dani Barcia, cut off supply and stepped high with confidence.

The Goals: A Statement Each Time

Details of each goal told their own stories—a tapestry illustrating both individual flair and collective intelligence.

• The opener arrived from a set piece, with Diego Villares darting in at the near post, glancing a whipped corner beyond Dani Jimenez to ignite Riazor’s terraces. This was the game’s hinge: from that moment, Deportivo played not just with hope but expectation.

• The second came via a dazzling interlace on the right: Ximo Navarro overlapped crisply, his low cross buried by Samuele Mulattieri, the Italian forward’s first for the club. His blend of movement and anticipation gave Riazor reminders of strikers past, hinting that Deportivo may have solved its perennial search for a reliable finisher.

• The third was a testament to the midfield’s technical edge—Mario Soriano curling home from just outside the box after a neat spell of possession. By now, the match was a procession.

• The fourth, almost cruel in its timing, saw substitute Yeremay Hernández pounce on a defensive error, slotting into an unguarded net as the clock ticked down. Huesca’s misery, in numbers as well as performance, was complete.

Key Players: Vintage Performances and New Heroes

• Mario Soriano: Orchestrated play from deep, set the tempo, scored a goal, and completed over 90% of his passes—a virtuoso display reminiscent of Deportivo's golden era.

• Samuele Mulattieri: Broke his duck with a poacher’s finish, but more importantly, occupied both center-backs, linking play and creating space for others.

• David Mella: Provided crucial width and intensity down the left, repeatedly stretching Huesca’s narrow defensive shape.

• Germán Parreno: The goalkeeper faced little, but what did come, he handled with the assurance and calm needed for a team eyeing promotion.

Tactical Masterclass or Huesca Collapse?

To attribute the score line solely to Deportivo’s brilliance would do a disservice to the manner in which Huesca unravelled. Their back five, so resilient in previous rounds, was static and error-prone—both Pina and Sergio Arribas were culpable for missed clearances and failed marking assignments. Manager Ziganda’s decision to stick to a lone striker left Huesca isolated in transition; Enol Rodriguez and Óscar Sielva found themselves outnumbered, unable to influence tempo or territory.

But this was not just a Huesca collapse; it was a clear illustration of what happens when ambition meets preparation. Deportivo’s patterns of play were crisp, their pressing coordinated, their transitions both rapid and drilled. The defensive line, particularly in how it squeezed space and supported the midfield, looks the mark of a side engineered not just to win games, but to dominate them.

The Fans Return—and So Might the Glory

For a club with the muscle memory of titles, Champions League nights, and passionate home support—relegation and languishing in the lower leagues have been humbling. Last night, however, Riazor pulsed with a rare optimism, its terraces vibrant under the Galician sky.

This is the crucial part of Deportivo’s resurgence: the sense of belonging, of being a big club once more—even if, mathematically, only three points were at stake. The crowd, whose faith has been severely tested since the club’s last top-flight outing, erupted with each goal, singing of better days and the promise of more to come.

What This Means: Signal, Not Noise

The Spanish Segunda División is a marathon, its leaders often changing by the week. But performances like this—fluid, commanding, ruthless—rarely happen by accident. Deportivo have now claimed three wins from six, extended their superior head-to-head record over Huesca (now four wins to Huesca’s two, with one draw in recent meetings), and issued a statement to rivals: after years in the shadows, they intend to stride back into the sunlight.

With the season’s runway unfurling before them, the biggest question is sustainability. Can Mulattieri produce consistently? Will the midfield maintain this tempo across a 42-game campaign? Injuries will play their part—the absences of Jose Angel Jurado and José Gragera a reminder of how thin margins can be.

Yet after a night like this, it is tempting to imagine that something is crystallizing in A Coruña. While Riazor has been deceived by false dawns before, Friday night felt different—less fragile, more formidable. Opponents will dissect the goals and search for flaws, but they will also see a team finally rising to the occasion.

Final Thought: La Liga Should Start Worrying

If Deportivo La Coruña continue in this vein, playing with cohesion, confidence, and a sense of destiny—they will not just win promotion; they will announce themselves as a force ready to disrupt the Spanish football establishment again. After all these years of exile, perhaps Friday’s demolition of Huesca will be remembered as the night a giant began to awaken.