The Atletico Madrid players defeated Espanyol at their stadium with 2: 1 in the dramatic end of the match of the Spanish 32nd round of La Liga. Diego Simeone’s team thus won important points, in order to secure a place that leads directly to the Champions League next season.
After an important victory in the end of the match, the team from Madrid is on the fourth place on the table with 60 points, as much as Barcelona and Seville have. On the other hand, Espanyol is in the middle of the table with 39 points and is safe from elimination.
After the first half, where the nets were at rest, Atletico took the lead in the 52nd minute with a goal by Yannick Carrasco. The Belgian beat the goalkeeper of the visiting team after an excellent pass from Matheus Cunha.
Things got worse for Atletico when Jeffrey Kondogbia received his second yellow card in the 71st minute, and Diego Simeone’s team remained decimated on the field.
Just three minutes later, things got worse. Espanyol managed to equalize after the goal of Raul de Tomas, the second best scorer of the Primera. It was the 15th goal of the season for the Spanish striker.
The real drama was seen at the end of the match, Madrid managed to score a penalty in the seventh minute of overtime, after watching the VAR video. The opposing supporters loudly informed the referee that he was too lenient when he only showed Aleiš Vidalu from FC a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 28 minutes into the game.
Yannick Carrasco put an end to the match in the tenth minute of overtime. He used the opportunity from the penalty spot and brought his team three important points.
In the next round, Atletico will meet Granada, while Espanyol will play at home against Rayo Vallecano.
