Valencia made it a club-record eight La Liga wins in a row as they beat Espanyol on Sunday to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona.
Espanyol had the best first-half chances, with Gerard Moreno and Sergi Darder both hitting the post, according to a BBC report.
Unbeaten Los Che had manager Marcelino sent to the stands moments before Geoffrey Kondogbia's 25-yard opener.
Santi Mina scored a late second as Valencia moved to within four points of Barca, who they play next weekend.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid fell 10 points behind the Catalans following Saturday’s goalless local derby.
Barca lead the standings on 34 points from 12 games, Valencia are second in 30, while Real are third and Atletico fourth, both on 24, reports Reuters.
Valencia, who last won La Liga in 2004, host the leaders at Mestalla next Sunday (19:45 GMT).