Atletico Madrid: The champions secure a hard fought win over Espanyol
Thomas Lemar scored the winner for the La Liga holders in the 99th minute of the match.
Atletico Madrid: Sloppy first half
Atletico Madrid secured a 2-1 win over Espanyol in a hard-fought match. A stoppage-time of additional 10 minutes was given in the second half. Thomas Lemar scored the winner for the champions in the 99th minute of the game.
Atletico named a very attacking lineup consisting of Suarez, Griezmann, Carrasco, Correa, and Llorente in the starting eleven. Angel Correa was a surprising inclusion in the playing eleven as he arrived at Spain only the previous day after completing his national duties with Argentina.
Atletico Madrid did not have a good start to the game at all. The forward line was not linking up as well as they are expected to be. Griezmann started on the left half-space of the Atleti attack. Meanwhile, Espanyol won lots of balls in the midfield and launched counter-attacks at ease. They reaped their reward in the 40th minute of the game from a corner as Raul De Tomas headed his team in front against the champion and went down into the tunnel 1-0 ahead at halftime.
Second Half
The second half was pretty much the same. Atleti were on their front foot trying to break down an Espanyol low block. Meanwhile, Espanyol was happy to be sitting in a low block absorbing all the pressure and launching counterattacks when they manage to win the ball.
However, in the 79th minute, Atletico Madrid got their equalizer thanks to a persisting Carrasco. The Belgian winger amid a flurry of blue and white shirts managed to turn around and hit a left-foot shot across the goal and Diego Lopez, the goalkeeper was helpless with the shot.
Subsequently, an additional 10 minutes of stoppage time was announced in the 90th minute much to the despise of the Espanyol supporters. In the 99th minute, Thomas Lemar was released in behind by Carrasco with a neat flick with the heel. The French winger shot straight at the goalkeeper with his weaker right foot. However, Diego Lopez’s save deflected the ball into his net to give Atleti the lead.
As a result, Atletico Madrid moves to the top of La Liga with this win. They next face Porto at home in the Champions League this week.