CATALONIA: Rayo Vallecano strikers Isi Palazon and Pathe Ciss struck in the first and second half respectively to bolster their side to beat Espanyol 2-0 in a heated La Liga clash on Friday as both sides ended with 10 men each.

After holding the strong Barcelona for a goalless draw in their opening match of the La Liga 2022-23 campaign, Rayo Vallecano tasted their first defeat as they outclassed Espanyol 2-0 to secure the top spot in the standings.

Rayo’s encounter got off to an unfavourable start when defender Florian Lejeune was sent off after getting his second yellow card in two minutes.

Later at the half-hour mark, the two sides squared off in terms of their fielders as Espanyol defender Sergio Gomez received a red card for a rough tackle.

Spanish striker Palazon scored in the 40th minute to give Rayo an early 1-0 lead and bolstered the side to finish the first half on a high.

A few minutes into the second half, the Senegalese midfielder Ciss struck from the corner to propel Rayo to a dominating 2-0 lead that lasted till the final whistle.

Iraola added veteran Radamel Falcao as a late replacement, and although being active, he was twice flagged for offside. Whereas, Espanyol was denied a consolation goal in the closing minutes as Javier Prado hit the post.

Meanwhile, in another match, Real Valladolid failed to taste a much-awaited victory over Sevilla as the promoted side had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Valladolid, which last defeated Sevilla 10 years ago, were looking solid to run away with an anticipated victory when Anuar Mohamed Tuhami netted the ball in the 80th minute.

Karim Rekik, however, stunned Valladolid as he cut their celebrations six minutes later with an astounding equalizer and powered his side to hold on for a draw.

After Sevilla’s season-opening loss against Osasuna by a score of 2-1 and Valladolid’s defeat by Villarreal by a score of 3-0, the outcome earned both teams their first point of the year.

The action-filled tournament is being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and will be simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

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