Espanyol 0-1 Atletico Madrid, Live Score and Commentary, La Liga 2016/17

That is all from me tonight. Do join Sportskeeda tomorrow for our coverage of the El Clasico, which could well decide the league title in Spain this season. Until then, this is Aaditya Narayan signing off. Do ping me on Twitter at @Aaditya_LFC if you have any thoughts about this game or the Clasico tomorrow. Cheers!

PPPEEEEPPPP!! FULL TIME. Espnayol 0-1 Atletico Madrid

Espanyol's home run is ended, while Atletico Madrid make it 9 games unbeaten courtesy Antoine Griezmann's 100th La Liga goal.

For much of that game, Atletico Madrid were the second best side. They were made to defend and concentrate hard by the sprightly Espanyol attackers. But when the game called out for a moment of quality, Griezmann stepped up with a stunning finish to give Atleti the lead.

Leo Baptistao had a stunning chance to put Espanyol back level immediately, but Jan Oblak made a brilliant save. Atleti were sloppy, uninspired and second best for large parts of the game, but in the end, they got the three points. And that is the most important thing for any side at this stage of the season.

Atleti moved to 68 points, just 4 behind Barcelona, ahead of tomorrow's El Clasico.

90+1' As we head into the first of two added minutes, Reyes looks for a lovely angled ball above the Atleti defense, but it has too much weight on it for Leo Baptistao to conjure anything significant out of it.

90' Atleti have gone back to square one again, by giving the ball away a little too cheaply.

88' Griezmann now charges at the Espanyol defense with a driving run from midfield. The defenders keep backing off him and it was almost like they were inviting him to shoot. He did that, but he ends up cutting across it and sending it wide of Diego Lopez's goal.

87' Atleti have been really sloppy since they scored the goal. They have given the ball away far too easily, and it has come about because they have tried to be a little too intricate and clever about things, when keeping it simple was the need of the hour.

85' Saved by Oblak! Leo Baptistao again! He gets the ball in midfield and runs at the Atleti defense before unleashing a shot from outside the area. But Oblak saves and hangs on to it as well. Gerard Moreno is furious that he didn't receive the pass from Baptistao.

85' OOHH! That is almost perfect from Griezmann! Koke breaks up an Espanyol move in midfield and the ball falls to the Frenchman. He plays a through ball looking for Gameiro but Diego Reyes just about cuts it out.

83' Gabi is very lucky to still not be in the referee's book. He commits another foul in midfield, this time on Javi Fuego.

Espanyol Substitution

Jose Antonio Reyes, remember him from his Arsenal days, all those years ago? He replaces Jurado. Marc Navarro also comes on to replace Javi Lopez.

This is a big ten minutes for Atleti now. Their defensive resilience will have to show, as they look to keep this lead and tighten their grip on third spot in La Liga

78' OH NO GERARD MORENO! WHAT A CHANCE AGAIN! The corner is perfect and falls right on the youngster's head in the centre of the six-yard area. But he doesn't get enough contact on it. It ends up being a flicked header that goes wide of the post. Oblak came off his line but was nowhere near the ball.

78' Espanyol play the resulting throw-in to Baptistao and ha cannot get past Godin. Espanyol have a corner though

77' Javi Lopez looks for the ball in behind the defense towards Leo Baptistao but Savic is there and he dismisses it from his sight and out of play.

75' WHAT A SAVE FROM OBLAK! Espanyol nearly hit back straight away, as the ball falls to Leo Baptastao on the edge of the box. He brilliantly nutmegged Filipe Luis, to go one-on-one with Oblak but the Atleti keeper made himself big and got a big chunk of his body behind it. Atleti escape

74' GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!! ANTOINE GRIEZMANN!

Another cross from the right wing, and this time Atleti have the breakthrough. The cross was met by Reyes, but it fell to Griezmann on the left side of the box, and he took it first time on the volley to smash it past Diego Lopez and give Atleti a priceless lead!

72' OOOHHHHHHHH!!! Atleti nearly take the lead, Espanyol survive! Lovely play by Atleti down the right flank. It eventually fell for Saul who dinked a ball across the area, Koke headed it back for Gameiro, but his attempted is charged down by Diego Lopez, straight to Filipe Luis. The Brazilian's shot was blocked by Diego Lopez!

71' Gabi wins the ball in midfield, and Saul immediately sprays a lovely pass out wide to Gameiro. He looks to play Partey in behind but that is well read by Diego Reyes to cut it off.

70' Koke's take is too close to Diego Lopez and he can gobble that up easily.

69' Espanyol are panicking slightly in midfield in recent minutes, and giving the ball away too easily. Atleti are tightening the noose here. Gabi plays it out wide to Filipe Luis, but the Brazilian is brought down and Atleti have a free kick in a promising position.

68' Nothing comes off the next one either. Espanyol clear their lines easily.

67' The first one is headed behind by Diego Reyes for another Atleti corner

67' Atleti are keeping the ball well inside the Espanyol half, and building some pressure on their opponents. A string of throw-ins on the right side leads to a corner. Can they make anything out of this?

64' Atletico Madrid SUBSTITUTION

Kevin Gameiro replaces Yannick Carrasco, who has largely been a peripheral figure in this game. He has been well dealt with by the Espanyol defense.

64' Now, it's Atleti who go straight up the other end and find Koke on the edge of the area. But there is a plethora of Espanyol defenders there to block the shot.

63' LOVELY JURADO! He receives the ball on the edge of the area, and gets past Saul like he wasn't there. He opens his body up and gets a right-footed shot, but Savic blocks it away. That might have been a handball but Savic was too close to Jurado for the referee to give anything, even if there was hand involved.

62' Leo Baptistao replaces Felipe Caicedo.

62' Koke's take is brilliant as it finds the head of Godin, but his header is well wide of the post. That was good strength from the Uruguayan to shrug off his markers.

61' Atleti have a free-kick on the right wing after a foul by Aaron Martin.

60' The game has gone rather quiet, with both teams beginning to make some desperate passes in an attempt to find their attacking players. A goal just cannot come soon enough in this game now.

56' UFFF! Another golden opportunity for Espanyol goes begging! The corner is headed out by Godin, but it reaches Piatti whose cross to the back post reached Gerard Moreno, whose left-footed volley would have gone out for a throw-in. But Piatti keeps it in play, only to find himself offside.

54' OOOHHHHH!! Once again, it is Piatti tormenting Gimenez! His first cross into the area is blocked away to Gerard Moreno who plays it to back to the little winger. He takes a shot and that is deflected for an Espanyol corner.

53' UFFF CARRASCO! Gimenez launches one from deep inside his own half, Carrasco plays a lovely volleyed flick towards Griezmann but one of the Lopezes at the back for Espanyol cleans up.

51' Atleti once again have a good spell of possession and work it around the Espanyol box. But Gabi plays a poor pass to break that sequence of possession. That was too far ahead of Filipe Luis.

49' Gerard Moreno fouls Gimenez on the halfway line, and pleads innocent. He did get the ball, but he caught Gimenez first.

48' Another shot for Atleti. Another shot off target and wild for Atleti. Saul was the guilty party this time. But this is much better from Atleti, they are getting Carrasco and Griezmann on the ball a lot more.

Partey came on for Torres, by the way.

47' Good start to the half for Atleti. They win the ball well in midfield and work it forward through Partey, who is in the action straightaway. He finds Griezmann on the left side. He gets a shot away, but it is meek. No power on it, and it trickles wide of Lopez's goal.

PEEEP! Off we go for the second half, as Atleti get us underway.

Thomas Partey has come on for Atleti.

HALF-TIME

Espanyol 0-0 Atletico Madrid

That has been Espanyol's half, and they will be disappointed that they haven't found a goal yet. It was Jose Maria Gimenez at right-back who Espanyol kept exposing with the pace of Piatti. In the end though, Jan Oblak did not have a single save to make and that will irk Quique Sanchez Flores. For all their good work and terrific play, they did not have a single shot on target. Atleti have not yet got started, as they have been worryingly over-run in midfield, They have been restricted to pot shots from distance, and their best chance came through one such shot from Carrasco, that was easy enough for Diego Lopez to deal with.

We'll be back with the second half in a bit.

43' OH NO TORRES! The free kick is lifted into the box and falls invitingly for Torres to hit it. But he has got underneath that ball as he hit the shot. That ended up closer to the Nou Camp than Diego Lopez's goal at the Cornella El Prat.

42' That is a foul by Piatti on Carrasco on the halfway line, as Atleti are keeping possession a little more. The Belgian wants a booking for the little Spaniard.

41' That is a decent spell of Atleti possession, as they slow down the tempo of the game, before playing it to Gimenez on the right wing. He tries to play in Koke with an intricate ball but Aaron Martin is there to deal with.

39' Atleti need to tighten their right flank, Espanyol's left. There is another attack down that side. Jurado receives the ball in midfield and plays it through to Piatti, but his cross is high and wasteful. Javi Lopez picks it up on the other side and crosses it, but this time, Savic is solid in heading it away.

36' The tempers are flaring! Piatti lunges in on Gimenez and the Atleti players don't like that. The referee gets things under control but not before a little pushing and shoving. Atleti are getting frustrated here. They have been well outplayed so far.

35' Caicedo and the Espanyol fans are enraged. The big striker plays the ball out off Godin, but the referee has given the decision against him. The fans are giving the assistant the choicest of words.

Atleti are being beaten to every 50-50 in midfield. Gabi, Koke and Sail need to get a grip on this game and the football, first.

32' Espanyol have Atleti on the ropes here! It is again down the left hand side. Piatti receives the ball and puts a low cross into the area. Savic gets it away to Saul but he is dispossesed by Victor Sanchez immediately. The ball falls to Fuego but his left-footed shot is diabolical. Poor decision to shoot. He had players around him.

31' OOOOHHHH! That is another beautiful cross from Piatti down the left hand side, amazing feet before he crosses. Caicedo lunges in with his head, but it is too high for him to make contact with it.

31' Caicedo gets one back on Godin, but it was a typical centre forward's tackle. He lunges in on the slide and catches the Uruguayan. Caicedo is in the book as well.