Espanyol have sacked coach David Gallego eight games into the season and replaced him with former Sevilla and Girona manager Pablo Machin, the Spanish side said in a statement on Monday.

Gallego leaves Espanyol second bottom in the standings on five points, with the club winning one La Liga game, drawing two and losing five.

The final straw for the club was the 2-0 defeat by fellow strugglers Real Mallorca on Sunday.

The coach did have some success in European football, however, leading them past three qualifying rounds to make it into the Europa League group stage, picking up four points from their opening two games. 

Espanyol defeat CSKA Moscow 2-0 in their UEFA Europa League group stage at the VEB Arena in Moscow last Thursday. Forward Wu Lei got on the score-sheet for Espanyol to become the first Chinese man to score in a major European competition.

The 27-year-old forward has fully integrated into the side, with it clear that David Gallego trusts Wu Lei, and he rewarded his coach's faith with a goal.

Gallego's successor Machin had sustained success with fellow Catalan side Girona, leading them into Spain's top flight for the first time in 2017 and finishing 10th in La Liga the following season.

Machin's work with Girona earned him the role at Sevilla where he made a strong start as the team made an early tilt for the title before fading away, and he was relieved of his duties in March.

He will be officially presented as coach in a news conference on Tuesday.