http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/14/espanyol-atletico-madrid-la-liga-match-report
Atlético Madrid surrendered third place in La Liga to Valencia when they had Miranda sent off for a brutal challenge in first-half added time and were held to a 0-0 draw at mid-table Espanyol on Saturday.
Atlético had the better chances at Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat stadium in Barcelona before Miranda was shown a straight red card when the centre-back felled Abraham with a leading arm as the pair jumped for a bouncing ball.
Fernando Torres had forced a fine save from Espanyol’s Kiko Casilla in the 11th minute and Koke fired narrowly wide a minute later.
Playing with a man fewer in the second period, the champions struggled to create scoring opportunities but Raúl García came close to breaking the deadlock 13 minutes from time when his low shot was brilliantly tipped away by Casilla.
Atlético, who are without a win in their last four games and need to overturn a 1-0 deficit when they host Bayer Leverkusen in a Champions League last-16, second-leg tie on Tuesday, have 56 points in fourth with 11 games left.
Valencia have 57 after Friday’s 2-0 success at home to Deportivo La Coruña, while fifth-placed Sevilla (49) can close to within four points of Atlético by beating Elche on Sunday.
