Kathmandu, Sept 16 – Espanyol secured a dramatic 3–2 victory over Mallorca to move up to third place in the Spanish La Liga standings. Despite being reduced to ten men before halftime, Espanyol showed resilience and sealed the win with a late penalty.
The home side started brightly, with Pere Milla opening the scoring in the 20th minute. Raúl Fernández doubled the advantage in the 34th minute, giving Espanyol a comfortable 2–0 lead. However, Mallorca responded just before the interval as Vedat Muriqi struck in the 45th minute to cut the deficit.
Espanyol’s momentum suffered a major blow in first-half stoppage time when goal-scorer Pere Milla was shown a red card, leaving the hosts to battle with ten men for the remainder of the match.
Mallorca took full advantage in the second half. Muriqi found the net again in the 65th minute, completing his brace and leveling the score at 2–2. With the visitors pushing for a comeback, Espanyol looked under pressure.
But the turning point came in the 81st minute when Kike García stepped up to convert a decisive penalty, restoring Espanyol’s lead and ultimately sealing the victory.
The win marked Espanyol’s third of the season, lifting them to third place in the league table with 10 points from four matches. In contrast, Mallorca’s struggles continued, as they remain second from the bottom (19th place) with just one point from their opening four fixtures.
With momentum on their side, Espanyol will be eyeing a strong push to stay among the league’s top contenders, while Mallorca must regroup quickly to climb out of the relegation zone.