Montoro's lob from a distance beat goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to snatch a 1-1 draw for Granada, who were outplayed at El Sadar Stadium despite having an extra man for 15 minutes.

Osasuna were poised to pull level on points with league leaders Real Sociedad, but Montoro's strike from deep denied the hosts a fourth consecutive victory.

Still, the Pamplona-based side has defied expectations by heading into the weekend in second place, one point above powerhouses Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

"We had worked really hard and it would have been great to win tonight," said Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate. "We were defending really well with 10, but Montoro's brilliant strike robbed us a victory."

Argentine forward Chimy Avila put Osasuna ahead just before halftime when he pounced on a rebound of a strike by Cote Valdes and beat goalie Luis Maximiano from close.

Osasuna's defence remained in control even after Valdes was shown a direct red in the 75th for fouling Granada's Luis Suarez on the break with only the goalkeeper to beat.

But seeing that his side needed a bit of the audacious to even threaten Osasuna's goal, Montoro did not hesitate to shoot from midfield when Herrera gave him a chance.

"I saw that (Herrera) was off his line and daring me to give it a go. Fortunately, it went in and gave my team a point," Montoro said.

Sociedad visit Atletico on Sunday, when Real Madrid play at seventh-place Barcelona in the first "clasico" match since Lionel Messi left Camp Nou.

Australian Associated Press