Back

Espanyol lose late on to Atletico Madrid

Another controversial penalty in stoppage time denies Los Pericos a point on the road

Espanyol left the Wanda Metropolitano empty handed after suffering another late setback, this time against Atletico Madrid. An injury time penalty, amidst controversial circumstances, condemned the side to a 2-1 loss against the reigning champions, who had previously scored in stoppage time in the first meeting between the two sides. The 'deja vu' also harked back to the recent game against Real Sociedad, in which a spot kick was given in the closing moments with much debate surrounding it.

The game would be reduced to what happened in the last move, but before that there were moments of strong play from Los Pericos, who nullified the home side's pressing and speed. Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved his side on more than one occasion, starting things off by keeping out a header from Leandro Cabrera. He would also save shots from Sergi Darder and Raúl de Tomás.

Espanyol controlled the game and had Atletico Madrid handcuffed for the first 45 minutes.

As soon as the second half began, Darder had a magnificent opportunity, but after Oblak's block the opposition started a counterattack that ended with Yannick Carrasco putting the ball into the net, off deflections from Aleix Vidal and Diego López.

That opening goal, to make it 1-0, stimulated RC Espanyol even more. Following a sending off for the home team's Geoffrey Kondogbia, RDT made Oblak produce a fine save, and a few seconds later he got the equaliser with a free kick to take the score to 1-1.

From then on, Diego López made a save from Carrasco but there was little else to report, until the verdict, 10 minutes into added time, that RDT had handled inside the box, Carrasco converting the resulting spot kick.

Next up, RCD Espanyol play Rayo Vallecano at home on Thursday night.