Relegation-threatened Granada holds Espanyol

A red card to David Barral was a huge blow for the host in the first half, but it led at the break thanks to Ruben Rochina.

Granada's Ruben Rochina in action against Espanyol.

Granada climbed out of the La Liga relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at home to fellow struggler Espanyol on Monday.

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A red card to David Barral was a huge blow for the host in the first half, but it led at the break thanks to Ruben Rochina.

Granada managed to hold firm at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes until the 82nd minute, but a Miguel Lopes own goal saw the teams sharing the points.

Even a point had looked unlikely when Barral was sent off just before the half-hour mark, picking up a second yellow card for a clumsy challenge.

Rochina opened the scoring five minutes prior to half-time with a fine finish from an angle, before Lopes was unlucky late on as he turned a Hernan Perez cross into his own net.

Espanyol is five points clear of the bottom three with nine games remaining.