Racing Santander got off to a brilliant start against Espanyol and appeared like they could be on their way to a massive upset, but some poor defending and a bad sending off gifted a win to their opponents. Espanyol are up to sixth place in La Liga, just two points out of a Champions League spot, after their 3-1 home win on Monday.
Espanyol Vs. Racing Santander, 2012 La Liga: Ten-Man Racing Fall Against Periquitos
Espanyol got caught on the counter in the early going as Racing jumped out to a surprise lead. In the 12th minute, Adrian put a ball across the box for Christian Stuani, who split the defense to get on the end of the ball and finish from close range.
Joan Verdu answered for Espanyol, and they would have the lead shortly afterwards as well. The equalizer came in the 26th minute and was followed up by a spectacular go-ahead goal by Philippe Coutinho, who scored from outside the penalty area in the 33rd minute to make it 2-1 for Espanyol.
In the 51st minute, Rading midfielder Marcos picked up a second yellow card that all but killed his team's chances of coming back to grab a draw. Espanyol defender Hector Moreno locked up all three points for his team in the 80th minute, heading in a corner kick to make it 3-1.
Racing sits in 18th place, three points behind Villarreal and six points behind Real Betis. Their chances of staying in La Liga aren't looking good, though Villarreal have been enough of a disaster this season that a further collapse wouldn't be shocking.
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