Espanyol 1-1 Atletico: Saul rocket hands Atleti 11th La Liga draw of the season

Saul Niguez scored Atletico Madrid's equaliser as they left rock-bottom Espanyol with a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Diego Simeone's men had seemingly got somewhere close to their best again over their previous two matches, but at RCDE Stadium they were fortunate to come away with a point, as their underwhelming away form continued having won just one of their past 10 on the road in LaLiga.

A positive Espanyol were good value for the lead when Stefan Savic diverted into his own goal and Jan Oblak's heroics kept Atletico within touching distance when nudging a long-range effort on to the crossbar.

Atletico offered greater enthusiasm going forward after half-time and Saul restored parity with a ferocious volley, securing a share of the spoils as neither side managed to get a second in the end-to-end latter stages.

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Match Events

5' WHAT A CHANCE missed by Wu Lei!

Wu 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.

24' OWN GOAL! Espanyol 1-0 Atletico (Savic)

We have an opening goal, with the ball having been bundled in from Wu 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.

34' OFF THE BAR! Sanchez almost scores

A stunning half-volley from Sanchez is heading for the top-left corner, but Oblak reaches over and makes a superb save, tipping it into the woodwork and away for a corner.

43' Excellent save from Oblak!

Oblak to the rescue for Atleti, as he gets down low to his right to parry away Embarba’s dipping free-kick.

46' GOAL! Espanyol 1-1 Atletico (Saul)

What a strike by Saul! There was little chance of stopping that and now Atleti are level. The ball rebounded to the midfielder in the area and he immediately sent a crushing volley flying into the right-hand corner.

61' CHANCE! Morata wastes a golden opportunity

A low cross from the right causes havoc for Lopez, who turns it against the post. Morata is there to latch onto the robound, only to prod his effort against the upright from less than a yard out.

70' NO PENALTY! Wu Lei fouled in the box

Espinosa finds himself unmarked from a corner and directs a header towards the far corner. A team-mate is extremely close to connecting with it, but just can’t get there and Atleti are let off the hook for some poor marking.

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