10-man Espanyol beat Granada 1-0 in La Liga
10-man Espanyol beat Granada 1-0 in La Liga
Hector Moreno's late goal gave 10-man Espanyol a 1-0 win at home over Granada in the Spanish league on Friday.

Spain: Hector Moreno's late goal gave 10-man Espanyol a 1-0 win at home over Granada in the Spanish league on Friday, as the Barcelona-based side ended a four-game winless run.

Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez saved Moreno's first two headers from corner kicks taken by Sergio Garcia, but the defender beat him on his third try after Garcia found Moreno unmarked at the near post in the 78th minute.

Espanyol's Victor Alvarez saw a direct red for fouling Youssef El Arabi from behind with only the goalie to beat in the 29th.

But the hosts mustered more scoring chances through Garcia's playmaking and stayed firm in defense, except for El Arabi's shot off the crossbar in the 61st.

Espanyol provisionally moved into eighth place with their first win after losing in the last two rounds and in both legs of their Copa del Rey quarter-final with Real Madrid.

"The good thing is that we were able to overcome the dismissal and get the three points," said Garcia, who again was Espanyol's best player in attack. The team even with 10 men worked very hard. That's how our team is made. We never give up and saw the recompense at the end."

Granada have lost three straight in league play. They remained in 14th place but only four points from the relegation zone before the rest of the teams play in round 23.

A minute of silence was held for former Spain coach Luis Aragones before the match at Cornella-El Prat Stadium. Aragones died on Feb. 1 at the age of 75.

Atletico Madrid lead the league by three points over Barcelona and Madrid. Atletico visit Almeria on Saturday, while Madrid host Villarreal. Barcelona visit Sevilla on Sunday.

Also this round, it's: Valencia vs. Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano vs. Malaga, Osasuna vs. Getafe, Valladolid vs. Elche, Real Sociedad vs. Levante, and Celta Vigo vs. Athletic Bilbao.

What's your reaction?

Comments

https://hapka.info/assets/images/user-avatar-s.jpg

0 comment

Write the first comment for this!