Victor Alvarez scored the only goal of the game as Espanyol beat Valencia 1-0 to reach sixth spot in La Liga.

It could have been a very different evening had Valencia capitalised on a bright start when Zakaria Bakkali evaded a couple of challenges, but his low effort was pushed clear by Pau Lopez.

The lead belonged to the home side in the 18th minute when Alvarez took advantage of poor marking to head home from Marco Asensio's free kick at the back post.

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Valencia threatened to hit back immediately when Enzo Perez was gifted space 25 yards from goal, but his powerful strike drifted just over the crossbar.

Espanyol finished the first half strongly to dominate possession for long spells, before being sent a warning after the break when Rodrigo found the room to test Lopez with a free header.

The hosts managed the game impressively with the slender lead in the bank as they countered well to cause Valencia frequent problems on the break.

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It could have been an even more comfortable finish for Espanyol had it not been for Jaume Domenech, who reacted superbly to make a fine double save from Hernan Perez and Burgui.

Felipe Caicedo was the latest player to miss a chance to wrap up the game when he sent a shot over from a promising position late on, but his wastefulness did not matter as Valencia extended their winless run to three games in all competitions.