Baena Breaks Espanyol's 5-4-1 Wall at the Death as Atlético Madrid Win 0-1

Álex Baena scored in the 89th minute and Atlético Madrid left the RCDE Stadium with a 0-1 win over Espanyol. The goal, a right-footed finish from Julián Álvarez's assist, arrived with an xG value of just 0.11 — the kind of half-chance that decides matches when one side has spent 90 minutes refusing to give up anything better.

Espanyol set up in a 5-4-1 and never really left it. Five across the back, four midfielders sat tight in front of that line, one forward looking for the counter. It is a shape built to squeeze space, and for 88 minutes it worked. Atlético finished with 71% possession, 19 shots to Espanyol's 10, and 25 touches in the box to Espanyol's 11. They also finished with 1.34 xG to Espanyol's 0.53. The scoreline stayed 0-0 because the block held, not because Atlético were poor.

The half-time numbers told the story early. Atlético had 70% of the ball in the first half, 10 shots to Espanyol's four, and 16 touches in the box to Espanyol's four. Their open-play xG was 0.52; Espanyol's was 0.00. Every Espanyol chance in that first period came from a set piece — 0.24 of their 0.24 first-half xG. The 5-4-1 was doing exactly what it was designed to do: force Atlético wide, deny central entries, and make the away side earn everything through crosses and second balls.

Atlético's 4-3-1-2 is not a shape that naturally stretches a five-man back line. The narrow midfield three and the two forwards want central combinations, and Espanyol's four midfielders sat tight in front of the defence to clog exactly those lanes. The result was a lot of possession in front of the block and very little through it. Atlético's 599 accurate passes — 89% completion — were mostly sideways and backwards. Their 306 passes in Espanyol's half were mostly in front of the 5-4-1, not behind it.

Six Atlético players found themselves squeezed by Espanyol's shape. Giuliano Simeone was dispossessed twice and managed just 82.4% pass accuracy across 69 touches. Jonathan David, the striker expected to find gaps between the lines, was dispossessed twice and completed only 78.3% of his passes on 36 touches. Both were asked to operate in the exact areas Espanyol's four midfielders were instructed to protect.

On the other side, Espanyol's defenders were comfortable in possession even as they surrendered the ball. Cristian-Romero completed 98.5% of his passes on 76 touches, Marc-Pubill 93.2% on 73 touches. Neither was dispossessed once. Jan Oblak, who finished with a 7.68 rating, completed 87% of his passes on 32 touches — the goalkeeper was a passing option more than a shot-stopper for most of the night. Ademola-Lookman, by contrast, saw just 20 touches and completed 84.6% of his passes, isolated as the lone forward in the 5-4-1.

Espanyol's set-piece threat was real. They generated 0.35 xG from set plays across the match, more than Atlético's 0.17. But they managed just two shots on target all night and zero big chances. The 5-4-1 gave them a platform to defend and a route to counter, but the counter never arrived with enough support. Lookman's 20 touches tell you how often the ball stuck in the final third.

Atlético's bench changed the game's rhythm. As the second half wore on, Espanyol's block dropped deeper and the away side's passing became more vertical. The 4-3-1-2 started to find the half-spaces between Espanyol's wing-backs and centre-backs — the exact areas the 5-4-1 is designed to protect, but only if the midfield four can shift across quickly enough. By the 85th minute, they couldn't.

The goal came from a move that had been building all half. Julián Álvarez, who had been dropping deeper to escape the midfield congestion, found space on the right and delivered for Baena. The finish was right-footed, low, and worth 0.11 xG — not a big chance, but the kind of chance that wins matches when the opposition has spent 90 minutes defending a 0-0. Espanyol had no time to respond. Their 5-4-1 had held for 88 minutes; it broke for one.

Atlético finished with three big chances to Espanyol's zero. They had 12 corners to Espanyol's four. They won 48 duels to Espanyol's 34. The 0-1 scoreline is narrow, but the performance was not. Espanyol's shape made it a one-goal game; Atlético's persistence made sure the one goal went their way.