Madrid, Feb 14: Real Madrid displayed amazing resilience to beat RCD Espanyol 1-0 on Feb 13. The team played with only ten men almost throughout the entire duration of the match. As a result of the victory, Real's gap with La Liga table leaders, FC Barcelona, has now come down to only five points.

The start was inauspicious for Real Madrid as their captain and goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, was shown the red card and sent off the field, only 90 seconds into the game. Casillas attempted a harsh tackle to stop Callejon at the edge of the box and the referee was quick to show the red card.

This resulted in the substitution of winger Angel Maria by Antonio Adan, who is a goalkeeper from the youth academy. This marked the debut of Adan, although in the most unexpected fashion.

However, the shortage of a player failed to dampen the spirits of Real, who looked lethal for almost the entire match. Brazilian Marcelo scored in the 23rd minute, to what was eventually the only goal of the match and sealed Real's victory.

OneIndia News