Valencia coach Gary Neville broke his winning Liga duck with victory over Espanyol.

Late goals from Alvaro Negredo and Denis Cheryshev earned Gary Neville his first Primera Division win as Valencia coach but Espanyol came close to inflicting a fatal blow.

Oscar Duarte's 52nd-minute header gave the struggling Catalans the lead and looked set to condemn Neville to a third consecutive league defeat which would have left his side just two points above the relegation zone.

But substitute Negredo pulled them level with a deflected finish after 70 minutes and new recruit Cheryshev scored with a diving header six minutes later to give Valencia the lead for the first time in 10 league games under Neville.

Although the remaining quarter of an hour witnessed a couple of nervy moments for the hosts, they hung on to claim a 2-1 win - their first league victory since beating Celta Vigo 5-1 on November 7.

Neville's side climb from 15th to 11th in the table thanks to the 2-1 win, while Espanyol lie just one point above the drop zone.