Espanyol beat Getafe 2-0 for third successive win

Barcelona: Espanyol beat nine-man Getafe 2-0 for their third straight away victory in the Spanish league on Sunday. Joan Verdu finished off a well-orchestrated passing combination by his team culminating in Sergio Garcia's chested assist for the midfielder to volley home in the 37th minute.

Getafe was decimated by Borja Fernandez's second yellow card in the 52nd and Federico Fernandez's red card in the 72nd for a low tackle on Garcia. Fernandez's foul led to Christian Stuani netting Espanyol's second goal from the resulting free kick a minute later when he pushed in a short cross from Diego Colotto after Wakaso Mubarak found him in the area.

Espanyol have risen from last place to 10th under replacement coach Javier Aguirre. The former Mexico manager has a contract until the end of the season and remained coy about his plans. "We can't talk about my future until I sit down with the directors of the club," Aguirre said.

Getafe stayed in ninth place after their first loss at Alfonso Perez Coliseum in 11 games. Also, Fernando Llorente scored his second goal of the season to give 10-man Athletic Bilbao a 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna.

Llorente, who has had limited playing time this season after refusing to renew his contract last summer, canceled out Bruno Gama's long-range strike in the 38th when the Spain striker headed in Andoni Iraola's lobbed pass in the 44th.

Bilbao midfielder Ander Iturraspe was dismissed with his second yellow card in the 81st, but Deportivo never threatened to take advantage of theri extra man. Deportivo saw their four-game winning run end as they crept two points clear of the relegation zone.

Also on Sunday, Real Sociedad extended their unbeaten run to 14 straight games by drawing 0-0 at Osasuna. The result left Sociedad in fourth place and in control of Spain's final Champions League berth, and set up a critical match next weekend when they host a surging Valencia side that is just two points adrift.

Barcelona maintained their 13-point lead by edging out Levante 1-0 on Saturday, after Real Madrid remained in second place by beating Real Betis 3-1. Also, Valencia routed Malaga 5-1, and Granada drew 1-1 with Valladolid. Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 on Friday.

Last-place Celta Vigo hosts second-to-last Real Zaragoza on Monday.