Carlos Romero's goal in the 85th minute gave the relegation-threatened hosts, who were now in 17th place, the win. Ahead of the crucial rivalry match at the Santiago Bernabeu next weekend, Atletico Madrid defeated Mallorca 2-0 earlier to go within one point of Los Blancos. Romero was only given a cynical foul on Kylian Mbappe before scoring the game-winning goal.

But Carlo Ancelotti's team didn't do enough to win what appeared to be an attractive match. In the first half, Espanyol mostly held off the Spanish and European champions. With less than two weeks until their Champions League play-off match against Manchester City, Real Madrid suffered another setback when Antonio Rudiger hobbled off in the first half. When Mbappe was judged to have fouled his marker, Madrid's lone opportunity, which was scored by Vinicius Junior, was disallowed.