Baena's 89th-minute strike seals fifth straight La Liga win for Atlético

Álex Baena struck in the 89th minute to give Atlético Madrid a 1-0 win at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium on Saturday, 17 October, delivering a fifth successive La Liga victory and a second consecutive late away winner for Diego Simeone’s side.

A controlled contest that needed a moment of quality

Atlético dominated possession throughout but found Espanyol goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño in commanding form. Jonathan David sent an early effort over the bar and had a second attempt saved, while Marcos Llorente struck the top of the crossbar after the hour. Fortuño finished the match with five saves and was named La Liga’s MVP of the game.

The breakthrough came from a combination that had been building. Julián Alvarez, who registered his first league assist of the season, played Baena in outside the box after the Spanish midfielder had entered the game in the 62nd minute as a substitute for Lee Kang-in. Baena drove the ball into the top-left corner to settle the match. Alvarez had three shots during his 45 minutes on the pitch before providing the decisive pass.

Baena’s growing influence

The goal was Baena’s fifth of the league season, taking his total goal contributions to seven — five goals and two assists — already two more than his entire output across the previous campaign. Diego Simeone praised the midfielder’s development after a disrupted season through injury, pointing to improvements in his decisiveness, strength and confidence. Against Espanyol, Baena registered three shots after coming on and shifted the pressure onto the hosts in the closing stages with his direct running.

Title race context

The win moved Atlético to within two points of Barcelona before the leaders kicked off against Real Betis. Barcelona subsequently won 5-2 at La Cartuja, so the gap did not narrow further. Atlético’s five-game winning run is their best such sequence since a similar streak between October and November 2025.

The victory also reinforced an emerging pattern in Atlético’s away form: in each of their last two league trips, they have found late winners rather than dropping points in matches that remained goalless deep into the second half. With Baena, David, Giuliano Simeone and Lee Kang-in providing attacking options from different angles, Simeone has the depth to shift the game’s momentum from the bench when earlier control fails to produce an early breakthrough.