Madrid: Forward Pablo Sarabia scored one goal and set up another to help Getafe beat Espanyol 2-1 in the Spanish league on Friday.
Getafe outplayed the visitors until the final minutes as Spain coach Vicente del Bosque watched from the stands at Alfonso Perez Coliseum.
Sarabia sprinted forward to volley home Alexis Ruano's cross for the 33rd-minute opener. He then skillfully dribbled by center back Hector Moreno before passing for Alvaro Vazquez to fire in the home side's second in the 57th.
"I didn't have a lot of room and had to find a way between two defenders, but it worked out well," said Sarabia. "I'm just happy Alvaro could put it in."
Espanyol, which was missing regular starters Sergio Garcia and Victor Sanchez due to suspension, reacted late, with substitute Anaitz Arbilla scoring from long range in the 89th.
Getafe's third straight home win under new coach Quique Sanchez Flores lifted it into a provisional 11th place.
"This is a big step so we can face the rest of the season more calmly and try to keep getting points to ensure we stay up," Sarabia said.
Defeat left Espanyol in eighth place, as it wasted a chance to close in on the Europa League positions.
Real Madrid leads Barcelona by one point before the rest of the round's matches on the weekend. Barcelona hosts Malaga on Saturday, a day before Madrid visits Elche.
