Malaga lose ground, fall Espanyol

Published Mar. 17, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Malaga slipped to a 2-0 loss to visiting Espanyol on Sunday, wasting a chance to regain fourth place in the Spanish league.

On Wednesday, Malaga beat Porto to reach the last eight in the Champions League, but a disciplined Espanyol proved too much for Manuel Pellegrini's side.

After a subdued first half at La Rosaleda, defender Diego Colotto put Espanyol in front in the 49th minute when he fired in a corner kick spilled by goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

Espanyol had little trouble soaking up Malaga's pressure and doubled its lead in the 66th off a counterattack led by Wakaso Mubarak, who raced down the left side and crossed for Sergio Garcia to deftly sidefoot into the net.

Malaga was left in sixth place, while Espanyol rose 11 points above the drop zone.