Espanyol
Atletico Madrid
Match summary
Atletico Madrid won 1-0 away at Espanyol, with a late winner.
Álex Baena put Atletico Madrid ahead in the 89th minute, set up by Julián Álvarez.
The chances backed that up: Atletico Madrid created 1.78 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Espanyol's 0.49 from 10.
Atletico Madrid secured a narrow away victory against Espanyol in this La Liga matchday 9 fixture, dominating the overall performance and territory. The visitors controlled 71 percent of possession and completed 672 passes with an 89 percent accuracy, compared to Espanyol holding 29 percent possession and 269 passes. Atletico Madrid generated a higher volume of attacking play with 19 shots against 10 from the hosts, recording 6 shots on target to 2, alongside 12 corners to 4. Discipline was tested throughout the encounter, resulting in a total of 7 yellow cards distributed across both sides.
The first half ended goalless after Atletico Madrid received yellow cards for Morten Hjulmand in the 22nd minute and Kang-in Lee in the 43rd minute for argument and a foul respectively. Multiple substitutions followed at half-time and through the second half, with Julián Alvarez and Alejandro Grimaldo replacing Ademola Lookman and Dani Martinez. Further changes saw Marcos Llorente, Álex Baena, Unai Núñez, Alejandro Grimaldo, Rodrigo Mendoza, Álex Calatrava, Gabriel Moscardo, Marcos Fernández, and Javi Puado enter the match. Disciplinary action continued with yellow cards for Cristian Romero, Álex Baena, Rodrigo Mendoza, Roger Hinojo, and Unai Núñez. The decisive moment occurred in the 89th minute when Álex Baena scored with a right foot shot to establish the 0-1 final score.
