The result was somewhat meaningless to both sides, who are destined to finish near the middle of the table and out of both the relegation battle and the berths for European competition.

Espanyol striker Raul de Tomas equalized in first-half injury time after the opener from Maxi Gomez. De Tomas took his league tally to 17 goals.

Espanyol fired coach Vicente Moreno and sports director Francisco ``Rufete'' Perez on Friday with its fans angry about the team's poor finish to the season.

Reserve team coach Luis Blanco took over as caretaker.

``Given the strange situation we faced after the change of coach and sports director, I think the team responded well,'' Espanyol midfielder David Lopez said.

Lopez teared up in the post-match interview when asked about his future, which is in doubt along with other veteran players such as 40-year-old goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

``The most important thing is to give it your all,'' he said after regaining his composure.

Valencia remained in 10th and Espanyol in 13th.

The match was the only game of the second-to-last round not to be played on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. local time, when several teams will try to avoid relegation.

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