Baena Late Strike Gives Atletico 1-0 Win at Espanyol

Atletico Madrid Espanyol Baena winner news: Atletico Madrid left it late again on Saturday, as Alex Baena scored in the 89th minute to seal a 1-0 win at Espanyol and stretch the winning run to six games in all competitions.

The goal came at the end of a tight match at the RCDE Stadium in Cornella. Espanyol defended with discipline for most of the evening and had chances of their own, but Atletico kept pushing until the final minutes and found a winner through Baena from the edge of the penalty area.

The result moved Atletico into second place in LaLiga, two points behind leaders Barcelona, who played later on Saturday. It was a fifth straight league win for the side of Diego Simeone, and another evening when Atletico found a way to win late.

Atletico Madrid Espanyol Baena Winner: What Happened

The first half produced few clear chances, but Espanyol came closest to an opener when Leandro Cabrera struck the crossbar. Jonathan David also went close for Atletico, with a shot from a tight angle that Espanyol goalkeeper Angel Fortuno pushed wide.

Atletico grew into the game after the break. Marcos Llorente hit the woodwork with a long range effort just after the hour mark, and Fortuno tipped the fierce strike against the top of the crossbar. The Espanyol goalkeeper stayed busy in the closing stages. He smothered another chance from David before denying Julian Alvarez twice, with the second stop a brilliant fingertip save to turn a trivela from the Argentina international behind for a corner.

Espanyol defended deep in a 5-4-1 shape and stayed in the game until the substitutes of Atletico changed it. Alvarez came on and added fresh momentum to the attack, and his pass set up Baena for the winner. Baena took one touch outside the box and drove a shot into the top left corner.

There was still time for late drama at the other end. Jan Oblak produced a stoppage time save from Pol Lozano to protect the three points for the visitors.

The match also saw the return of Espanyol captain Javi Puado, who came on for his first appearance since January after a long term knee injury. Ademola Lookman started for Atletico on the flank and worked hard in the first half before he was replaced at the interval as part of a tactical reshuffle.

Match Stats

The numbers show how much Atletico controlled the match, even though the winner came so late. Atletico held 71 percent of possession and created far more chances than the home side.

Stat	Espanyol	Atletico Madrid
Possession	29 percent	71 percent
Shots	10	19
Shots on target	2	6
Accurate passes	198 (73 percent)	600 (90 percent)
Corners	4	12
Fouls	10	9
Expected goals	0.53	1.34
Final score	0	1

What It Means

The win kept the pressure on Barcelona ahead of the match of Barcelona later in the day, and it confirmed Atletico as a serious title contender. Atletico now have 22 points, while Espanyol stay 12th on eight points, 14 behind the visitors.

Baena continues to be one of the key figures of the campaign. He has now contributed seven LaLiga goals for Atletico this season, with five goals and two assists. That is already two more goal contributions than he managed in the whole of last season, when he recorded two goals and three assists in 27 matches. He is now two goals away from his best single season scoring record in the competition, seven goals with Villarreal in 2024-25.

The winner was the product of a short but decisive cameo. Baena played 28 minutes as a substitute and created two chances before he netted the winner. Speaking after the match, Baena said the team keeps believing until the 90th minute. Simeone praised the midfielder and called him a player who can do a lot of damage.

For Espanyol, the result extended a poor run. The home side had lost two and drawn two of the previous five league matches before this one, and the defeat leaves the team in the lower half of the table. The side of Manolo Gonzalez defended with great effort, but the late goal meant the effort went without reward.

What Next

Atletico will look to extend the winning run in Europe next. The team visits VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday 20 October, before the league campaign resumes. Espanyol travel to Racing Santander in LaLiga on Saturday 24 October, where the home side will look to end a run of one win in seven league matches.

The habit of scoring late has become a theme of the Atletico season. Time and again, the side of Simeone has stayed patient against deep defences and found a winner in the closing minutes. As long as that habit holds, Atletico will stay close to the top of the table.

Conclusion

Atletico earned the three points with patience, control, and one moment of quality at the end. Espanyol defended well for 88 minutes, but the quality of Alvarez and Baena decided the match. The win keeps Atletico second and keeps the title race alive, with the biggest tests of the season still to come.

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