Espanyol 2-1 Atletico: Hosts make late comeback despite Alvarez' free-kick goal

Espanyol came from a goal down to cause a shock on the opening weekend of the LaLiga season by beating Atlético Madrid 2-1 at the RCDE Stadium, ending an eight-match winless H2H run in the process.

Match Report

Both sides have been active in the transfer window this summer, and it was one new man for either side who combined for the first real highlight of the contest. Visiting centre-back Dávid Hancko came close to marking his LaLiga debut with a goal when meeting a corner with his head, only to power his effort straight at new Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović, who flapped it away. At the other end, Jan Oblak began another season between the Atleti posts by keeping out a deflected strike from Roberto Fernández, before he was at full stretch to prevent a Leandro Cabrera header from reaching the top corner.

Julián Alvarez was eager to open his account as soon as possible, trying his luck from distance on a couple of occasions but could only force routine saves from Dmitrović. Yet with 37 minutes on the clock, the Argentinian broke the deadlock by curling a free-kick exquisitely over the wall and into the top left corner, giving Dmitrović no chance.

Javi Puado’s 12 goals last season played a huge role in the Parakeets’ survival, and he was only denied his first of this campaign by Oblak’s excellent saves to keep out the forward’s headers. Alvarez notched five more than Puado last term, and he almost doubled the visitors’ lead just before the hour mark when Álex Baena slipped a pass through, only for his shot to strike the post and bounce clear. That miss came at a crucial juncture, given that the previous four league goals scored by Manolo González’s men all came after the 60-minute mark. And with 73 minutes on the clock, they began the late show again. A Tyrhys Dolan free-kick caused havoc in the Atlético box, before Edu Expósito found Miguel Rubio, who forced home the equaliser. 

In the closing stages, Pere Milla thought he had wasted the chance to complete the turnaround when he sent a header over from a great position, yet two minutes later he was wheeling away in celebration after he met Omar El Hilali’s cross and directed his header beyond Oblak’s reach. That goal sealed a first LaLiga opening day win for Espanyol in eight attempts, while Diego Simeone tastes defeat on the opening day for the first time as Atleti manager.

Match Events

37' GOAL! Alvarez scores a wonderful free-kick directly! Espanyol 0-1 Atletico

73' GOAL! Espanyol 1-1 Atletico (Miguel Rubio)

84' GOAL! Espanyol 2-1 Atletico (Pere Milla)

Line-ups

Espanyol XI: Cabrera, Dmitrovic, Pol Lozano, Calero, Puado, Exposito, Jofre Carreras, Ramón Terrats, Omar El Hilali, Roberto Fernández, Carlos Romero

Subs: Kike, Rubén Sánchez, Pere Milla, Miguel Rubio, Pol Tristán, Pablo Ramón, José Salinas, Ángel Fortuño, Tyrhys Dolan, Antoniu Roca, Rafel Bauzà, Roger Hinojo

Atletico XI: Oblak, Llorente, Le Normand, Dávid Hancko, Gallagher, Álex Baena, Thiago Almada, Alvarez, Matteo Ruggeri, Johnny Cardoso, Giuliano Simeone

Subs: Griezmann, Koke, Lenglet, Sørloth, Musso, Galan, Molina, Giacomo Raspadori, Marc Pubill, Carlos Martín, Barrios, Salvi Esquivel