Espanyol: Kiko Casilla; Galán,
Raúl Rodríguez, Héctor Moreno, Didac; Forlín,
Raúl Baena; Weiss (Cristian Alfonso 87'), Verdú (Cristian
Gómez 77'), Romaric; Thievy (Rui Fonte 64'). 4-2-3-1.
Granada: Julio César; Nyom (Franco Jara 76'),
Mainz, Borja Gómez, Siqueira; Mikel Rico, Fran Rico; Uche (Ighalo 76'),
Abel Gómez (Jaime Romero 53'), Dani Benítez; Geijo. 4-2-3-1.
Goals:
1-0. 26. Raúl Baena. Far post header after
Thievy headed on Romaric corner.
2-0. 45. Verdú (penalty). After
Nyom brought down Weiss inside penalty area.
3-0. 80. Rui Fonte. Acrobatic
shot after keeper pushed Romaric free kick on to bar.
Yellow cards: Nyom 44', Baena 76', Jara 81', Jaime 84'.
With the top six all playing on Sunday, it was the turn of the other teams vying for the European spots to kick off the weekend. Espanyol in particular took advantage with a 3-0 win over Granada which takes the Catalans up to fifth in the table. Romaric, Raúl Baena and Didac all went close before Baena opened the scoring with a far post header after Thievy headed on Romaric's corner. Casilla had to save from Dani Benítez, but Romaric and Thievy both tested third choice keeper Julio César, who was making his debut due to injuries to Roberto and José Juan. And with the first half coming to a close Verdú added the second from the penalty spot after Nyom tripped Weiss on the edge of the area. For a short while in the second half Granada were on top without causing too many problems for the local keeper, and with ten minutes to go Rui Fonte completed the scoring with an acrobatic shot after Julio César could only push Romaric's wide free kick on to the bar.