Espanyol have missed the chance to move temporarily into sixth place in La Liga following a 0-0 home draw with Malaga on Tuesday night.

Jhon Cordoba started well for the hosts and was causing trouble with his early running and he was taken down on several occasions in the first 10 minutes.

The first real chance fell to the hosts after 30 minutes, but David Lopez slipped at the crucial moment and his shot was blocked.

Malaga struck the bar twice in the final five minutes of the half, first through Roque Santa Cruz and then Eliseu, but the two teams went in level.

The away side were buoyed by the ending to the half and almost went ahead through Sergi Darder but Kiko Casilla made a good stop.

It was an end-to-end finish to the game and Santa Cruz came close to taking the points for Malaga but his header from a corner went wide and the match ended goalless.