Espanyol defeats Real Madrid

Spain, Feb 1 (PL) Espanyol, entrenched at home at the RCDE Stadium, better known as Cornellà-El Prat, defeated the powerful Real Madrid 1-0 today to climb out of the relegation zone.

Supported by a fan base of more than 33,000 people, Manolo González's team achieved a result that raised their pride to the height of the goals, against a Merengues team that is perched at the top of the season.

A shot in the 88th minute by Carlos Romero, assisted by Omar El Hilali after a counterattack, broke the Casa Blanca's goal and gave them the victory, after several skirmishes between the two teams throughout the match.

With this result, Carlo Ancelotti's men have 49 points, seven more than their arch-rivals Barcelona and only one more than Atletico Madrid, who defeated Mallorca 2-0 today.

The Pericos, with 23 points, are in 17th place, out of the danger zone that would send them to the second division.

In other results on Saturday, Getafe and Sevilla drew 1-1 and Villarreal beat Valladolid 5-1.