Atlético de Madrid sealed a victory against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium after tracing the goal by Raúl de Tomás in minute 41 with a target from Carrasco in 79 and another in 99, on the horn, from Lemar.
The host presented more danger in the opening bars and got his reward against a slightly imprecise opponent in defense. Still, Simeone’s gunpowder and squad depth tipped the balance in the second half.
Embarba, after four minutes, sent the first warning to Atlético. The winger took advantage of a mistake by Savic and Oblak had to take the ball off. The rojiblancos, meanwhile, did not take long to respond with a center from Llorente from the right wing that Luis Suárez was close to connecting.
Atlético, despite their defense of five, did not easily contain the host’s attempts to get ahead on the scoreboard. The parakeets insisted in the rival area with an active Melendo, while Griezmann, in his first minutes after his return as rojiblanco, also claimed prominence with an imprecise header.
Finally, Raúl de Tomás, after another serious warning from Embarba, culminated the team’s insistence and advanced to Espanyol, who until now had not scored this season. The forward headed in a corner kick with his head to the near post in the 41st minute. Simeone’s men were unable to react.
At the restart, the two coaches adjusted their initial eleven. Simeone seated Hermoso, Trippier and Correa and ushered in Kondogbia, Lodi and Lemar. Vicente Moreno, meanwhile, gave entry to Recasens by Calero, who ended the first half with physical discomfort.
Moving to the bench was good for Atlético, who was able to tie at 54. Lemar sent a center from Llorente to the back of the net, but the referee, after consulting with the VAR, canceled it for offside by Luis Suárez, in position advanced, although without touching the ball.
The rojiblancos kept trying, while Espanyol’s approaches dropped. Finally, Carrasco took the prize for insisting on a personal move in which he scrambled in the area until he detached himself from several defenders and beat Diego López with a cross shot in 79.
In the last bars of regulation time, and in the ten minutes of added, there were approaches. Embarba tried to make it 2-1 and, for Atlético, Lodi crossed without anyone being able to finish off what would have been a clear chance and Carrasco sent a shot close to the post.
The draw seemed inevitable, but Lemar avoided it in 99. The French international scored 1-2 with a right hand, after a precise pass from Carrasco, from the top of the area that changed everything, closing any room for more changes.
Data sheet:
1- RCD Espanyol: Diego López; Óscar Gil, Calero (Recasens, min.46), Cabrera, Pedrosa; Morlanes (Bare, min.58), Darder, Melendo (Loren, min.58); Aleix Vidal (Melamed, min.75), Embarba and Raúl de Tomás (Dimata, min.83).
2- Atlético de Madrid: Oblak; Trippier (Lemar, min.46), Savic, Felipe, Hermoso (Kondogbia, min.46), Carrasco; Llorente, Koke, Correa (Lodi, min.46); Griezmann (Joao Félix, min.58) and Luis Suárez (Cunha, min.71).
Goals: 1-0, min.41: Raúl de Tomás; 1-1, min 79: Carrasco; 1-2, min.99: Lemar.
Referee: Martínez Munuera (Valencian committee). He admonished the coach Vicente Moreno (min.96) and the footballers Hermoso (min.31), Kondogbia (min.82), Carrasco (min.98), Nico Melamed (min.100) and Joao Félix (min.100).
Incidents: match corresponding to the fourth day of LaLiga Santander played at the RCDE Stadium before 16,000 spectators. EFE (HN)