Gerard Moreno struck in added time to give his Espanyol side an impressive 1-0 home win over Real Madrid in a Spanish La Liga Matchday 26 to all but end the Los Merengues’ faint title hopes.

The Catalan club needed to get a result to further move away from the relegation zone while Real Madrid were hoping to strengthen their top four status and also close the gap on leaders and arch rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid were without topscorer Cristiano Ronaldo and the team lacked the usual cutting edge normally associated with Zinedine Zidane’s team.

They were then punished via the late goal from Espanyol striker Moreno at the end of the game.

The victory significantly takes Espanyol (31 points) twelve points clear of the relegation zone while Real Madrid stay in 3rd spot with 51 points and are in danger of losing the spot to Valencia who are guests of Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening.

A win for leaders Barcelona over Las Palmas on Thursday night will stretch their lead over Real Madrid to 17 points.

In the other game played on Tuesday night, Christian Portu continued his good form in front of goal after netting a 14th minute winner to hand his Girona side a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.

Girona (37 points) have climbed above Vigo into 7th spot after the win while Celta Vigo (35 points) drop from 8th to 9th on the league table.