Valencia set up tasty battle with Barcelona

VALENCIA rode their luck to post an eighth consecutive win in LaLiga and move back to within four points of leaders Barcelona.

Marcelino’s side were outplayed in the first half by Espanyol, who hit the post twice through Gerard Moreno and Sergi Darder, but turned the tables after the break in a 2-0 win.

Espanyol created chance after chance in the first hour but could not take any of them and they were made to pay in the 66th minute.

Marcelino’s frustrations had spilled over and he was sent off following a confrontation with referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez, but as he was making his way to the stand, Geoffrey Kondogbia curled in a superb opener.

Espanyol’s misery was complete in the 82nd minute when an attempted chest back to keeper Pau Lopez from Victor Sanchez went horribly wrong and Santi Mina nipped in. The result sets the stage perfectly for next Sunday, when Valencia host Barca.

Malaga came from behind to boost their survival prospects with a dramatic 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

Despite an early opener from Roberto Rosales, the hosts looked to be heading for another defeat when Deportivo responded through Lucas Perez and Fabian Schar.

But Michel’s men, who claimed their first win of the season at the end of last month, equalised when Chory Castro scored just past the hour mark.

And they sealed another three points when Borja Baston burst through the Deportivo defence to fire the winner past keeper Ruben six minutes from time.

Bottom side Las Palmas frustrated Levante for 70 minutes, but two late goals earned the visitors a 2-0 victory. The breakthrough came in the 71st minute when Cheick Doukoure headed in Tono’s cross.

And Levante made sure of the points eight minutes later when Jason found the bottom corner. The victory lifted Les Granotes up to 12th place in the table.

Aritz Aduriz earned struggling Athletic Bilbao a point with a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Villarreal.

Manu Trigueros had put Villarreal in front in the 28th minute not long after he had missed a penalty.