MADRID (AP) - Valencia’s momentum in the Spanish league was halted by a 3-1 loss at Las Palmas in a match it played with 10 men for most of the second half on Monday.
Valencia conceded twice after Munir El Haddadi was sent off for a hard foul in the 51st minute, losing for the first time in three matches and remaining only six points from the relegation zone.
It had won two in a row following a winless run of eight matches in the league.
Valencia opened the scoring through Santi Mina, but Jonathan Viera equalized with a long-range shot before halftime. After the second yellow to El Haddadi, Mauricio Lemos put the hosts ahead with a superb free kick shot in the 57th and Kevin-Prince Boateng sealed the victory in the 61st.
“We got off to a good start, but things got complicated after their first goal and the red card,” Valencia defender Ezequiel Garay said.
Las Palmas had won only once in its last six games. It remains 11th in the 20-team standings.
“This victory allows us to be optimistic,” Las Palmas coach Quique Setien said. “Valencia was coming off a good run.”
Real Madrid has a four-point lead over Barcelona and Sevilla atop the standings.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.