Celta Vigo secured a crucial three points in their bid to climb away from the relegation zone after beating Leganes 1-0 at Balaidos on Saturday afternoon.
Iago Aspas scored the only goal of the game, although the hosts played a large period of the match with 10 men after Filip Bradaric was sent off in the 21st minute.
Leganes, playing their first game since Martin Braithwaite was bought by Barcelona as an emergency signing for the injured Ousmane Dembele, played Guido Carrillo as a lone striker.
Bradaric received a red card just 21 minutes into the contest after his tackle on Unai Bustinza caught the defender's ankle one foot off the ground.
There were not many chances in the remainder of the first half, with only a Javier Eraso effort shortly before the break testing Ruben Blanco in the Celta goal.
Just shy of the hour mark, it appeared that Leganes would also be down to 10 men after second-half substitute Oscar Rodriguez was handed a red card for a high challenge on Lucas Olaza, but after viewing the VAR screen on the sideline, referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero reversed his decision and gave Oscar a yellow.
Then, from the resulting free-kick from the left-hand side, Olaza put in a cross towards the six-yard box and Aspas was able to get enough contact with his volley to guide it into the bottom right corner, with Juan Soriano unable to get to the effort.
This win creates a two-point gap between 17th-placed Celta and Real Mallorca in 18th, while Leganes and Espanyol are a further three points behind the Balearic Islanders in 19th and 20th respectively.