Espanyol 1-0 Sevilla: Felipe Caicedo virtually secures safety

Felipe Caicedo's puts Espanyol on the verge of safety, while Sevilla failed to win away from home yet again this season.

Unai Emery's side never even came close to triumphing here ahd haven't managed to once in La Liga this term.

This was clearly a good chance for Espanyol to virtually seal their safety, considering Sevilla were playing a weakened team, having returned from a gruelling trip to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League semi-finals a couple of days before.

However, in a dull first half they failed to create anything of note. They barely forced Sevilla stopper Sergio Rico to keep his eyelids open, much less make any taxing saves.

Sevilla were poor too, more understandable considering the reserves they put out. Fernando Llorente came closest with an early effort that was dealt with easily enough by Pau Lopez.

Marco Asensio, as he so often has been this season, was the brightest spark for Espanyol, but his direct running let to little.

Victor Sanchez fired a drive nto the side netting right before the interval, the first moment the hosts had their fans on the edge of their seats.

The same player got things going in the second half, which had a far higher tempo. Victor nodded a cross from the right against the frame of the post early on.

Espanyol's fast start paid off, with Caicedo breaking the deadlock in the 52nd minute, reacting quickest to pump the ball home after Asensio's shot bounced back off the upright.

Sevilla did not respond well, barely worrying Pau, while Espanyol should have doubled their lead with 15 minutes to go. Asensio's perfect through-ball saw Hernan Perez denied by Rico before Gerard Moreno struck the ball against the post.

There were no further chances and the win puts Espanyol on 40 points, with the drop zone now five points over their shoulder with two games to go.