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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +3
FULL TIME: ESPANYOL 1-1 ATLETICO MADRID.
90' +2
Javi López gets yellow.
Lopez receives a caution for bundling into Joao Felix from behind.
90' +1
Saul threads a neat pass into the Espanyol area and Vitolo chases it. Lopez gets there first and, though he does seem to catch a bit of the Atleti attacker, no penalty is given.
90'
Víctor Sánchez gets yellow.
Atleti try to counter, but Sanchez stops it, receiving a booking in the process.
89'
Renan Lodi gets yellow.
Another booking for Atleti – this time it’s Lodi who has fallen foul of the referee.
88'
It is a scrappy game as we head towards full time, with Espanyol doing all they can to pin Atleti back and, just perhaps, create one final chance of their own.
86'
Koke gets yellow.
Koke receives a caution after he lunged in on Melendo, who was driving clear through midfield.
83'
Espanyol seem content to hold out for a point, which would see them move level with 19th-placed Leganes. Atleti, as it stands, are heading into the top four, though can they find a winner in the final minutes?
81'
Adrià Pedrosa enters the game and replaces Adri Embarba.
A third and final change for Espanyol. Embarba has gone off, with Pedrosa on for the closing stages.
76'
Atleti have managed to withstand that spell of Espanyol pressure though and are now back on the front foot. With three forwards on the pitch, it appears Joao Felix and Vitolo are playing in slightly wider roles alongside Costa, who is spearheading their attack.
Minute
Description
71'
Óscar Melendo enters the game and replaces Iturraspe.
J. Calleri enters the game and replaces Wu Lei.
Espanyol’s second change sees Iturraspe make way for Melendo in midfield.
And now a double substitution for Espanyol. Calleri is on in place of Lei.
69'
Vitolo enters the game and replaces Á. Correa.
Another change for Atleti. Correa has made way for Vitolo.
63'
Diego Costa enters the game and replaces Álvaro Morata.
That miss will be Morata’s final involvement. He has made way for Costa.
59'
Koke drops in a free-kick which Savic rises for, though he can’t win his attempted header and it is put out for a throw-in which Trippier delivers long. The loose ball falls to Felipe, who tees up Koke, but he can’t get a shot away.
56'
João Félix enters the game and replaces Y. Carrasco.
The first change of the game now and it is Simeone who has made the first move. Carrasco is off, with Joao Felix coming on.
55'
Partey picks out Trippier with a great pass and the former Tottenham full-back whips in a cross from the byline, but Espanyol’s defence manage to clear it before Morata can get there.
52'
Atleti have looked much sharper since the restart and, buoyed by that excellent Saul strike, are now pushing most of their outfield players into Espanyol’s half.
48'
Espanyol’s gameplan had worked so well in the first half but now they’ll need a rethink. Atleti desperately needed an early goal in the half and now they have it, Simeone will be demanding his side take the impetus.
46'
Saúl has scored a goal for Atletico Madrid!
We're back up and running for the second half!
GOAL! What a strike by Saul! There was little chance of stopping that and now Atleti are level. The ball rebounded to the midfielder on the edge of the area and he immediately sent a crushing volley flying into the right-hand side of the goal. It's 1-1!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: ESPANYOL 1-0 ATLETICO MADRID.
45'
A bit of pinball in Atleti’s area comes to nothing, after an Espanyol attacker is adjudged to have fouled Oblak from a corner which the visitors failed to deal with convincingly.
44'
A moment of hesitation for Lei and it cost Espanyol the chance to possibly grab a second before half-time. The winger had raced clear down the right, but dallied in getting a cross in, allowing Lodi to recover.
42'
T. Partey gets yellow.
A booking for Partey, who lunged in late on De Tomas. The Espanyol forward has been a real thorn in Atleti’s side so far.
38'
Savic is down after a collision with Embarba, and will have to go off for treatment for a cut to his mouth. Embarba, meanwhile, has picked up a booking.
37'
Adri Embarba gets yellow.
35'
Another fine save, this time from Lopez, who leapt backwards to parry over from Felipe’s acrobatic attempt. However, the goal would not have counted, as Saul was deemed to have made a foul in the build-up.
32'
Embarba uses some neat footwork to engineer room for a shot, though the angle is tight and all he can do is whip an effort into Oblak, who catches with ease.
28'
Simeone’s team are being played at their own game at the moment, with Espanyol sitting deep and restricting the impact of Atleti’s forwards. Meanwhile, Lei and De Tomas are working extremely hard at the other end whenever the home side break.
26'
Atleti had seemed to be building up some momentum but, in truth, had crafted little in the way of a real goalscoring chance and now a defensive lapse has been punished by the hosts.
24'
S. Savić is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
GOOOOAAALL! ESPANYOL LEAD 1-0! We have an opening goal, with the ball having been bundled in from Lei’s low cross. De Tomas got a touch, but it appears as though the last nudge on the ball was from Savic, who took it beyond the despairing reach of Oblak.
21'
Lodi gets frustrated after losing possession down the left and flies into a challenge, giving away a free-kick and enabling Espanyol to relieve some of the pressure building on their lines.
19'
Espanyol are staying disciplined and rigid in their shape off the ball, allowing Atleti to have possession in midfield but swiftly closing down the visitors’ passing options as soon as the ball makes it into their defensive third.
17'
Atleti are now starting to exert some control, with Partey and Saul finding some space and time in the middle of the park, while Koke is also joining in. So far, no real chances for either side, though.
13'
Another half-chance for Atleti as Koke gets in down the right-hand side of Espanyol’s penalty area. However, despite having several team-mates to aim for, he can’t keep his cross down and it sails out of play.
10'
Neither side have yet managed to stamp any authority on proceedings, with the play so far scrappy and lacking in quality. Finally, Atleti manage to string a succession of passes together, with Carrasco getting a shot off which is deflected wide.
6'
Felipe gets yellow.
Tempers are already flaring slightly here and Felipe has received a booking after he lunged in on De Tomas from behind.
5'
Close! Lei very gets on the end of a free-kick, but can’t turn his effort goalwards. Espanyol keep up the pressure, with a cross finding Bernardo, but his effort is blocked by an Atleti defender.
3'
Atleti start on the front foot, with Correa making inroads into Espanyol’s area down the right and forcing a corner which is delivered in by Koke. Saul flicks the ball towards goal, with Correa just unable to get on the end of it, though Lopez has to react quickly to make a save nevertheless.
1'
KICK-OFF! At the sound of the referee's whistle, Espanyol get proceedings underway.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of LaLiga, with lowly Espanyol hosting Atletico Madrid at RCDE Stadium. Stick right here for all the action as it happens!
It has a been a frustrating season on the domestic front for Atleti, though Diego Simeone’s side head into this game on the back of a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions, having won three of those fixtures. They sit fifth in LaLiga, 10 points adrift of the top two.
Espanyol, meanwhile, are starting down the barrel of relegation as it stands. Rooted to the bottom on 19 points from 25 games, they are six points adrift of safety as it stands. A win today could just be vital in their hopes of surviving the drop.
ESPANYOL (4-2-3-1): Diego Lopez; Javi Lopez, Bernardo Espinosa, Leandro Cabrera, Dirac Vila; Victor Sanchez, Ander Iturraspe; Wu Lei, Sergi Darder, Adrian Embarba; Raul de Tomas.
ESPANYOL SUBS: Andres Prieto, Adria Pedrosa, Jonathan Calleri, Oscar Melendo, Matias Vargas, Fernando Calero, Victor Gomez.
ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Kieran Trippier, Stefan Savic, Felipe, Renan Lodi; Koke, Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey, Yannick Carrasco; Alvaro Morata, Angel Correa.
The teams are out and kick-off is coming up!
Simeone will be demanding much more from his team in the second half. He has plenty of options on the bench to choose from, including Vitolo and Costa. For Espanyol, their coach will be wanting more of the same.
ATLETICO MADRID SUBS: Antonio Adan, Joao Felix, Marcos Llorente, Diego Costa, Vitolo, Mario Hermoso, Sime Vrsaljko.
That’s all we have time for. Until next time, goodbye!
Espanyol are level on 20 points with Leganes, but they remain bottom of LaLiga. Atleti, meanwhile, are up into fourth place.
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