Valencia score late to beat nine-man Espanyol

A late penalty from Roberto Soldado has given Valencia a 2-1 win over nine-man Espanyol in La Liga this evening.

The hosts took the lead after 16 minutes when Jonathan Viera advanced into the box before slotting his effort underneath the keeper.

Espanyol hit back just after the half-hour mark, however, as Christian Gomez whipped a ball in to Samuele Longo, who made no mistake with his finish.

Sergio Garcia almost put the visitors into the lead 10 minutes after the break when he collected the ball inside the box, but his effort was pushed away by the keeper.

Valencia came close to restoring their lead through Alberto Costa on the hour mark, but Cristian Alvarez was equal to his effort.

Alvarez was called upon again 10 minutes from time, this time to deny Jonas's strike from the edge of the box.

The hosts were handed the perfect chance to score a late winner when they were awarded a penalty in the 86th minute, much to the dismay of the Espanyol players. During the protests both Hector Moreno and Sergio Garcia were shown red cards, reducing the visitors to nine men.

Soldado eventually stepped up to the spot kick and made no mistake to give his side all three points.