Espanyol win seven-goal thriller

Espanyol provisionally moved to within six points of a Europa League spot in La Liga after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Las Palmas on Friday.

In a frantic encounter at Cornella-El Prat, which constantly swung to and fro, an unmarked David Lopez needed less than a minute to bounce a header past Raul Lizoain from a corner.

However, Las Palmas equalised through a long-range Mauricio Lemos strike that squirmed past the outstretched glove of a furious Diego Lopez.

Gerard Moreno scored his 11th goal of the season when he buried a first-time finish into Varas’ bottom-left corner to restore Espanyol’s lead, but Lemos followed up with a glancing header for 2-2.

Lizoain then wiped out Felipe Caicedo in the box, allowing Pablo Piatti to blast the subsequent penalty into the roof of the goalkeeper’s net.

The points were sealed by Jose Manuel Jurado, who coolly slotted past Lizoain from a defence-splitting through ball, although Mateo Garcia’s near-post finish made for a nervous finale.

“We’re growing and connecting with our fans more,” Espanyol boss Quique Sanchez Flores said after the game.

“We showed character, personality and a desire to win, and the game ended as a beautiful festival of goals that went in our favour.

Las Palmas counterpart Quique Setien riposted: “It's a shame because the team didn’t lose faith until the end, even at 4-2 down.

“We scored a third but then we didn’t push on enough [for the fourth].”

La Liga - Club News