Atletico Grabs Three Points, Carrasco Converts Penalty In Last Minutes Of The Game.
A controversial 100th-minute penalty handed Atlético Madrid a 2-1 victory over RCD Espanyol at the Wanda Metropolitano, keeping the reigning champions in a strong position to record a tenth consecutive top-four finish in La Liga.
Diego Simeone was looking for a response after his side’s UEFA Champions League exit, and the unsavoury scenes that accompanied it. However, it was the visitors who had the first chance of the game, as Leandro Cabrera was unmarked inside the box from a set-piece, but his header was tipped over by Jan Oblak. The half didn’t get much better for the hosts, who failed to register a shot on target before the interval, and lost Thomas Lemar to an injury that had the Frenchman in tears.
A triple substitution at the break signalled Simeone’s displeasure at his side’s first half display. The changes certainly provided Atlético with more threat, but Espanyol nearly made a mockery of the Argentine coach’s bold decision, when Aleix Vidal laid a chance on a plate for Sergi Darder, but his low driven effort was well stopped by Oblak.
Moments later, Vidal was defending a counter attack after a turnover, and just six minutes after being introduced, Yannick Carrasco cut inside to fire a shot that powered its way through the grasp of Diego López. Despite falling behind, Vicente Moreno’s men remained competitive, and Oblak continued to be the busier of the two goalkeepers. The Slovenian produced a fabulous stop to deny Raúl de Tomás an equaliser after a simple long ball unlocked the hosts’ defence.
Holding on to a slender lead was made even tougher, when Geoffrey Kondogbia received a second yellow card, after being penalised for handball after the ball cannoned into his arm after first striking the boot of Felipe. From the resulting free-kick on the edge of the box, de Tomás fired straight at Oblak, and the ball burst straight through his hands and over the line in a horror moment for the usually-reliable shot-stopper.
A tremendous López save to deny Carrasco looked to have secured a point for the visitors, but there would be a sting in the tail in extraordinary circumstances. Seemingly the hero, de Tomás conceded a penalty deep into stoppage time for an unclear handball. Carrasco converted the spot-kick, meaning Espanyol have been defeated by the defending champions beyond the 98th minute twice in the same season.
