Alex Baena leads Atlético Madrid to a late win over Espanyol

Atlético Madrid snatched a precious victory from their hosts Espanyol with a goal to nil, in the ninth round of La Liga, thanks to a late goal scored by Alex Baena in the 89th minute, giving coach Diego Simeone's team three important points in the race for the La Liga title.

Real Madrid enter the match with high spirits after regaining their balance following the capital derby before the international break. They have also welcomed back Pablo Barrios after his recovery from injury, continuing their positive results in recent times.

Atlético Madrid established their dominance in the first half, focusing on attacking movements down the flanks, particularly on the right side where Lee Kang-in and Giuliano Simeone were notably active, while Ademola Lookman did not deliver the expected level of performance.

Despite the visitors' repeated attempts, Espanyol managed to maintain their defensive solidity and threatened their opponent's goal on several occasions, particularly through set pieces, ending the first half of the match in a goalless draw.

At the start of the second half, Simeone moved to invigorate the front line, bringing on Julián Álvarez and Alex Grimaldo for Dani Martínez and Ademola Lookman, in search of increasing attacking effectiveness and converting control into goals.

Atlético continued to apply pressure on the home defence, with Marcos Llorente nearly opening the scoring in the 61st minute, after unleashing a powerful shot from outside the penalty area that hit the crossbar following a challenge from the Espanyol goalkeeper. Meanwhile, the hosts tried to exploit counter-attacks to surprise the visitors' defence.

As the match was nearing its end with a draw, Alex Baena managed to break through Espanyol's defense in the 89th minute, scoring the winning goal that secured Atlético Madrid three valuable points away from home, repeating the scenario of clinching victory in the dying minutes that the team experienced in their previous match.

With this victory, Atlético Madrid strengthened their position in the Spanish league race and continued to apply pressure on their direct rivals ahead of their matches in the ninth round, confirming their ability to secure tough encounters until the last moments.