Sunday 17 March 2019 23:04, UK
Sevilla won their first match after sacking coach Pablo Machin as Wissam Ben Yedder's 53rd-minute penalty earned them a 1-0 victory at Espanyol.
Both teams finished the match with 10 players as Sevilla goalkeeper Juan Soriano and Espanyol midfielder Sergi Darder saw red in stoppage time.
Sevilla's win leaves them sixth in La Liga, three points behind fourth-placed Getafe who played out a goalless draw with Valencia on Sunday.
Valencia had an effort by Goncalo Guedes ruled out at the start of the second half by VAR as they remain seventh, now three points behind Sevilla.
At the other end of the table Villarreal and Real Valladolid boosted their hopes of avoiding the drop with victories.
Villarreal, who beat Levante last time out, defeated second-bottom Rayo Vallecano 3-1 to move four points clear of the drop zone.
Rayo took a 20th-minute lead through Mario Suarez but Karl Toko Ekambi's second-half brace and a late Gerard Moreno strike earned Villarreal the victory.
Valladolid are also four points above the bottom three after beating Eibar 2-1 in dramatic fashion.
Fabian Orellana's 54th-minute goal looked certain to consign Valladolid to a fifth successive defeat but stoppage-time goals from Daniele Verde (penalty) and Sergi Guardiola snatched victory for the visitors.
