Goals from Espanyol defender Bernardo Espinosa and forward Wu Lei handed the relegation-threatened side a precious 2-0 home win over 10-man Alaves as the teams resumed their La Liga campaign on Saturday after the COVID-19 stoppage.
Espanyol defender Bernardo celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Alaves in Spanish Leagu
Madrid: Espinosa gave bottom team Espanyol the lead in the final seconds of the first half, heading Adri Embarba’s cross past substitute keeper Roberto Jimenez before Wu doubled the lead two minutes after the break having beaten the offside trap.
Alaves had been reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when its starting Spanish keeper Fernando Pacheco was shown a straight red card after he misread a long pass and handled the ball just outside the penalty area.Espanyol was unable to make the most of the resultant free kick but it continued to create opportunities, forcing Jimenez into a pair of superb double saves against his former team, before eventually making the breakthrough.
Earlier, Valencia was held to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man Levante after the visitor levelled eight minutes into stoppage time with a VAR-awarded penalty on Friday.Gonzalo Melero converted the last-gasp spot kick to cancel out Rodrigo’s opener as Europe-chasing Valencia stayed seventh on 43 points from 28 games.The result left Levante in 12th with 34 points.
Meanwhile, Getafe’s Champions League qualifying hopes took a knock as it resumed its campaign after a three-month hiatus with a 2-1 defeat behind closed doors at Granada.David Timor’s first-half opener was cancelled out in the second half by Djene’s own goal following a blunder by goalkeeper David Soria, whose hands were again shaky as Carlos Fernandez struck the winner with 11 minutes left.
The result left Getafe in fifth place on 46 points from 28 games, level on points with fourth-placed Real Sociedad which plays its game in hand at home to Osasuna on Sunday.Granada moved up a place to eighth on 41 points.
After a lengthy suspension of the Spanish league due to the COVID-19 crisis, the game got off to a slow start but Getafe went ahead in the 20th minute when Timor curled a fine shot under the bar from just outside the area.Granada hit back after 70 minutes when Djene chested the ball into his own net after Soria failed to handle a bouncing free kick from Fede Vico.
The home side doubled its tally nine minutes later as Fernandez fired home after his first attempt was parried back into his path by Soria.
Alaves had been reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when its starting Spanish keeper Fernando Pacheco was shown a straight red card after he misread a long pass and handled the ball just outside the penalty area.Espanyol was unable to make the most of the resultant free kick but it continued to create opportunities, forcing Jimenez into a pair of superb double saves against his former team, before eventually making the breakthrough.
Earlier, Valencia was held to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man Levante after the visitor levelled eight minutes into stoppage time with a VAR-awarded penalty on Friday.Gonzalo Melero converted the last-gasp spot kick to cancel out Rodrigo’s opener as Europe-chasing Valencia stayed seventh on 43 points from 28 games.The result left Levante in 12th with 34 points.
Meanwhile, Getafe’s Champions League qualifying hopes took a knock as it resumed its campaign after a three-month hiatus with a 2-1 defeat behind closed doors at Granada.David Timor’s first-half opener was cancelled out in the second half by Djene’s own goal following a blunder by goalkeeper David Soria, whose hands were again shaky as Carlos Fernandez struck the winner with 11 minutes left.
The result left Getafe in fifth place on 46 points from 28 games, level on points with fourth-placed Real Sociedad which plays its game in hand at home to Osasuna on Sunday.Granada moved up a place to eighth on 41 points.
After a lengthy suspension of the Spanish league due to the COVID-19 crisis, the game got off to a slow start but Getafe went ahead in the 20th minute when Timor curled a fine shot under the bar from just outside the area.Granada hit back after 70 minutes when Djene chested the ball into his own net after Soria failed to handle a bouncing free kick from Fede Vico.
The home side doubled its tally nine minutes later as Fernandez fired home after his first attempt was parried back into his path by Soria.