19th place Elche hosted 18th place Levante in a battle to see which side could find themselves out a safety. For Elche, only a win would see them climb above the drop zone, while for the visitors Levante, a draw might be enough to momentarily see them climb out of the relegation zone.
A twelfth minute goal by Jonathas was enough for Elche to see off Levante, by a 1-0 scoreline. The win moves Los Ilicitanos up to 17th in the table, while the loss moves Levante down to second from bottom, although they remain only one point away from safety.
Los Ilicitanos opened the match dictated play and had most of the possession and chances from the opening whistle. Five minutes into the match, Levante were reduced to ten men when David Navarro was sent off for a hard challenge.
Seven minutes later, Jonathas opened the scoring for the hosts, heading a well-placed Aaron Niguez cross past Marino. The goal was the Brazilian's eighth of the season.
Seven minutes later, Levante had a chance to equalize when Vyntra earned a penalty for what looked like to be a slight foul. But Tyton saved Fajr's penalty strike to keep Elche on top.
In the seventieth minute, Levante earned another penalty when Damian Suarez fouled Victor Cadadesus inside the penalty area. But Tyton saved Ruben Garcia's penalty strike to preservve Elche's advantage once again.
Elche continued to dictate the tempo of the match, and force Las Granotes to put as many as ten men behind the ball at times in order to prevent the home side from going ahead. But Levante's defense would ensure that the scoreline would not change.
Elche will look to build a small winning streak at home when they look to shock second place Barcelona on 24 January at the Estadio Martinez Valero, while Levante will look to end their 11-match winless streak in all competitions when they travel to La Madrigal to take on sixth-place Villarreal. That match will take also take place on 24 January.