Fer Nino double fires 10-man Elche to stunning Espanyol win

Elche were forced to play almost the entire match with 10 men after captain Federico Redondo was sent off in the sixth minute, but they produced a disciplined and dangerous performance to secure three important points.

Redondo was initially spared after appearing to pull back Bryan Zaragoza as the Espanyol winger raced towards goal. However, referee Jon Ander Gonzalez Esteban overturned his original decision after consulting VAR and showed the Elche midfielder a red card.

Despite their numerical advantage, Espanyol failed to take control of the game and were punished by an Elche side that attacked with real purpose.

Nino opened the scoring when he raced onto a long ball, beat goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic and calmly finished from a tight angle into an empty net.

The forward then doubled Elche's advantage before half-time. Roy Revivo was given too much space on the left and picked out Niño at the far post, where he smashed a low volley beyond Dmitrovic.

It was Nino's fourth goal in five matches and gave Elche a remarkable 2-0 lead despite their early setback.

Espanyol had plenty of possession after the interval but struggled to seriously test Matias Dituro. Cala fired over from distance, while Roberto Fernandez headed narrowly wide.

Elche almost added a third when Lucas Cepeda's deflected effort struck the post, before Dituro denied Marcos Fernandez and Javi Hernandez.

Espanyol finally found a way back into the game with less than 20 minutes remaining. Hernandez's inswinging cross took an unfortunate deflection off Victor Chust and flew into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit.

The home side pushed for an equaliser, but Elche delivered the decisive blow on the counter-attack.

German Valera sprinted forward from inside his own half before keeping his composure to lift the ball over Dmitrovic and make it 3-1.

Elche almost added a spectacular fourth when Javier Morcillo's long-range strike was tipped onto the crossbar by Dmitrovic, but the visitors comfortably saw out the remaining minutes.

The victory ended Elche's six-match winless start to the campaign and lifted them out of the relegation zone, while Espanyol were left to reflect on a frustrating afternoon against 10 men.