MADRID (AP) — Espanyol slipped closer to relegation in the Spanish league after a 3-2 loss at Sevilla on Thursday.

It was Espanyol's eighth defeat in its past 10 games, leaving the club in second-to-last-place and three points from safety with five games remaining.

Espanyol led 2-1 at halftime after an own-goal by Karim Rekik in the 29th minute and Javi Puado's goal in the 43rd. Bryan Gil had opened the scoring for Sevilla in 22nd, and the visitors equalized with Lucas Ocampos' penalty kick in the 69th and took the lead with an 88th-minute winner by Pape Gueye.

Espanyol had boosted its hopes of escaping relegation after beating 18th-place Getafe in the previous round, a result that ended its eight-match winless streak. But the outlook going forward looks grim, with its next match against leader Barcelona and with second-place Atletico Madrid also on its schedule.

Espanyol was relegated in 2020 for the first time in nearly three decades. It returned to the top flight in its first attempt as second-division champion.

Sevilla, sitting in 11th place, got back to winning after a home loss to Girona in the previous round had halted its streak of four consecutive victories in all competitions. It next faces Juventus in the semifinals of the Europa League.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Associated Press