Espanyol pulled off a stunning comeback to beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 at the RCDE Stadium on the opening weekend of La Liga, SoftFootball reports. The win not only ended an eight-match winless streak against the Madrid side but also gave the Parakeets a dream start to the season under Manolo González.
The first real spark of the game came from the new summer signings. Atlético’s Dávid Hancko almost marked his La Liga debut with a towering header from a corner, but Espanyol’s goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović was alert, tipping it away.
At the other end, Jan Oblak was called into action early, keeping out close-range efforts from Roberto Fernández and Leandro Cabrera to keep Espanyol at bay.
Despite Atlético taking the lead in the 37th minute through Julián Alvarez’s exquisite free-kick, curling over the wall and into the top corner, Espanyol never lost hope. The Parakeets grew into the game, with Javi Puado testing Oblak repeatedly and setting the stage for a late turnaround.
Watch Julian Alvarez celebration after scoring atletico’s opener posted on the club official X handle
The equaliser arrived in the 73rd minute after a cleverly worked Tyrhys Dolan free-kick caused havoc in the Atlético box. Edu Expósito’s vision found Miguel Rubio, who calmly finished to level the score.
Then, in dramatic fashion, Pere Milla seized the moment. After initially missing a header, he made no mistake two minutes later, meeting Omar El Hilali’s cross and powering the ball past Oblak to complete the comeback.
Watch Pere Milla’s Celebration after scoring the wining goal for Espanyol posted by the club’s official X handle
SoftFootball understands that Atlético’s new signing Giovanni Raspadori made his debut in the 70th minute, coming on to try and make an impact, but the Italian forward couldn’t alter the result.
Espanyol’s resilience and late-game composure were the difference, while Atlético experienced an opening-day defeat under Diego Simeone for the first time as Atleti manager, a tough start for the LaLiga giants
