Struggling Espanyol secured a heroic 0-0 draw at Champions League-chasing Getafe on Tuesday after playing most of the La Liga match with 10 men.

Espanyol found themselves on the backfoot when defender Bernardo Espinosa was dismissed in the 16th minute for appearing to elbow an opponent while waiting for a cross.

The visitors initially coped well with the setback but were clinging on for most of the second half and it took two big interventions from goalkeeper Diego Lopez to thwart Getafe, including a double save in stoppage time.

The point took Espanyol off the bottom of the table and into 19th place on 24 points, two points from the safety zone. Getafe remain fifth on 47 as they again missed out on the chance to move into the top four having lost 2-1 at Granada last Friday.