Only time will tell if this hugely disappointing encounter will condemn Espanyol to the second division of Spanish football. But judging by their dreadful away display against Valladolid, which saw them slump to a 2-1 defeat at Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Sunday night, there doesn't seem to be any glimmer of hope. 

Wu Lei started his third successive game for Espanyol but failed to instigate a dramatic improvement in their defensive vulnerabilities, and with a paltry 19 points on the board after 25 games, the bottom side's relegation fears worryingly deepened. 

The margins in this match were fine but the moments that counted came in the 24th minute, when David Lopez was sent off for two bookable offences in the space of 10 minutes. It was the Espanyol midfielder's first red card in his 151 La Liga appearances.

The visitors retreated into their shell after the incident and Valladolid began to dominate the ball. However, an indefatigable Wu still found a few half-chances that came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock, with a curling effort from the edge of the box being the most notable threat in the final third. 

The performance of Wu has been one of the few sources of joy for Espanyol of late and the Chinese star continued his fine form again this evening. Despite the testing circumstances, Wu conducted himself well, with a lovely blend of clever movement and efficient defensive contribution when out of possession. 

Yet Valladolid played with conviction and set about Espanyol with a clear strategy of catching a discernibly frail defense on the turn. It was a game plan that fashioned several openings and bore real fruit with 13 minutes to play as the hosts finally took advantage of their numerical advantage. 

Sandro Ramirez pounced on Diego Lopez's error to open the floodgate after reacted fastest to turn the ball home. Six minutes later and the game was up. Sergi Guardiola smacked the loose ball past Lopez in a goalmouth melee before Adrian Embarba grabbed a consolation penalty for Espanyol who are five points adrift of safety. 

Espanyol coach Abelardo Fernandez has enough experience of looking unflustered in defeat and he calmly observed the team didn't play well enough to warrant a victory particularly following David's dismissal for a second yellow card early in the first half. 

"Everything became more difficult with 10 men. They dominated proceedings but didin't create that many chances, because our team defended well," said Fernandez. 

"But we showed signs of tiredness in the latter stages of the game and allowed them to find a loophole and score two quick goals," he added.

For all the doom and gloom, Fernandez remained defiant about his side's chances to survive. "You could give up or continue to fight until the last day. We know what we are going to do. There are still 13 games left and I believe in my players."

Espanyol are clearly living on borrowed time.