Chinese striker Wu Lei has managed to repay Espanyol coach Abelardo Fernandez's rare faith in him by netting a precious goal after making his first league start in over two months. But when the dust settled, his team's lingering defensive vulnerability in La Liga emerged once again as Sevilla salvaged a 2-2 home draw on Sunday.

The hosts controlled proceedings right from the start before Lucas Ocampos headed Sevilla in front after 15 minutes at the end of a good team move but Adri Embarba equalized for the visitors at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium after 35 minutes with a low free kick.

Espanyol improved as an attacking unit after the interval, and Wu duly stepped up just five minutes into the second half. The 28-year-old Chinese star ruthlessly exploited Jonathan Calleri's cushioned header and calmly slotted the ball past the helpless Tomas Vaclik.  

It was Wu's third league goal of the season, having also found the back of the net against Getafe and Barcelona earlier in the campaign. However, Espanyol failed to take advantage of Wu's fine form, with Victor Sanchez being sent off for a second bookable offense when he clipped over Youssef En-Nesyri as the Moroccan forward surged towards goal.

Wu had to make way for Victor Gomez right after the incident as Fernandez attempted to inject vigor into his exhausted team. Yet Suso helped Sevilla avoid a huge upset with 10 minutes remaining after the AC Milan loanee cut back from the right side and firing in a left-footed shot from the edge of the box.

The draw left Sevilla stuck in fifth place while Espanyol remain at the bottom of the table, three points from safety alongside Leganes, who earlier played out a goalless draw with Real Betis.

"I'm extremely happy with my goal, which is very important for our team," said Wu who was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game. "We grabbed one point under such difficult circumstances and hopefully we will start to win more games."

"Every point is indispensable to our target to survive in the league. I want to delicate my goal to everyone who is enduring hardship right now. Everything will be fine," he added.

Elsewhere in Madrid, Eden Hazard's inspired return from an injury layoff couldn't keep Real from stumbling to a 2-2 draw at home with Celta Vigo, reducing its lead in the Spanish league to a single point.

Hazard earned a penalty that was converted by Sergio Ramos to put Madrid in front in the 65th minute. But Celta snatched the draw when Santi Mina fired in the 86th-minute equalizer after fellow substitute Denis Suarez set him up with a superb through ball that threaded past several Madrid players.

In Italy, Juventus reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 2-0 win over 10-man Brescia but Lazio moved just a point behind into second after beating Inter Milan 2-1 in a clash between the title rivals in Rome.

Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado scored in either half as champions Juventus rediscovered their winning form at home. Cristiano Ronaldo was rested for the game in Turin, but veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini returned after a long injury layoff.

Inter drew first blood when Ashley Young fired home his first Serie A goal on the brink of half-time. But Lazio drew level through a Ciro Immobile penalty, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic found space in a crowded box to curl in the winner.

Inter drop from top spot to third, three points behind the champions, after falling to just their second defeat of the season.

In the Premier League, Son Heung-min struck a stoppage-time winner after a dreadful error from Bjorn Engels as Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 at Aston Villa to move up to fifth in the Premier League.

The South Korea forward cashed in on Bjorn Engels' stoppage-time error to snatch the victory for Jose Mourinho's side after Engels' 53rd-minute header had looked like earning Villa a point in its push against relegation.

Son's first goal, following up after Pepe Reina saved his penalty, had given Spurs the lead just before halftime after Toby Alderweireld's equalizer cancelled out his early own goal.

Fifth place in the Premier League is now likely to offer a Champions League spot following Manchester City's two-year European ban, although it is yet to officially be confirmed and City are appealing.

The result moved Spurs above Sheffield United into fifth, while Villa remained a point above the drop zone in 17th.

Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette scored in the second half to give Arsenal a 4-0 victory over Newcastle and end a run of four straight draws in the Premier League.

The Gunners overcame a lifeless first half to record their first league win since New Year's Day but they only rose to 10th place.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich scored three goals in a devastating opening 12 minutes as they thumped Cologne 4-1 away to go back to the top.

(With input from agencies)