Espanyol were denied a vital home win in dramatic fashion as Recreativo Huelva equalized in the last minute from the penalty spot.
Nicolas Pareja's 62nd-minute header had looked set to give the home side all three points.
But the visitors were awarded a penalty in the dying seconds when Marco Ruben was brought down as he attempted to round goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.
Kameni received a straight red card before Ruben himself stepped up to score from the spot.
Espanyol drew 1-1 at Valladolid last weekend in Mauricio Pochettino's first league game in charge, but the Catalans have failed to win in the league since the beginning of November.
They had the first real chance of today's game when the ball fell to Ferran Corominas after some good work by Jose Callejon after seven minutes. Corominas shot from the edge of the area but it was blocked by Cesar Arzo.
Three minutes later Nene's free-kick from the left found centre-back Daniel Jarque in the area but he could only head wide from 10 yards out.
Callejon was again involved in the action after 16 minutes, this time playing the ball through for Nene to hit a first-time shot wide from the edge of the area.
Recreativo's best early effort came when Jose Maria Casado tried to surprise Kameni with a long-range free-kick, but the Cameroonian goalkeeper was alert to the danger and collected comfortably.
Recre's best chance of the half came after 31 minutes when Nasief Morris took a corner on the right, finding Rafael Barber unmarked, but the midfielder's header was blocked on the line by Francisco Chica.
Casado's cross from the left then found Adrian Colunga inside the Espanyol area, but the striker could only head well wide of the target.
Recre had the first chance of the second half after barely a minute when Sisi Gonzalez found Javier Camunas on the edge of the area, but he shot wide.
Espanyol responded quickly and Lola Smiljanic's blocked shot fell to Callejon on the edge of the box, and his shot deflected off Morris before going just wide.
The visitors almost took the lead on 59 minutes when Chica's back pass to Kameni fell short allowing Adrian Colunga to steal in, but the Recreativo striker could only poke wide under pressure from the Espanyol goalkeeper.
Espanyol finally broke the deadlock three minutes later when Nene's free-kick on the left found Pareja rising above his marker to head past Asier Riesgo from 10 yards out.
Recre came close to an equaliser as Kameni failed to collect Christian Maidana's free-kick. The ball fell to Alain Nef who could only head wide of the open goal.
That looked to be their final chance but as the game moved into stoppage time Pareja and Chica failed to clear, allowing Ruben to run through on goal.
He was brought down by Kameni and, having used all of their subs, Espanyol were forced to put Pareja in goal who was helpless as Ruben drilled his penalty low into the net.
