Espanyol came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Spanish La Liga 2025-26 opener
Julian Alvarez’s free-kick gave Atletico the lead before Espanyol struck twice in the second half
Pere Milla netted the winner for Espanyol in the 84th minute
Pere Milla's superb header completed a late turnaround for Espanyol as they came from a goal behind to stun Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their LaLiga opener.
Julian Alvarez's stunning free-kick had given Diego Simeone's side a deserved lead, but two goals in 11 second-half minutes saw Espanyol make a winning start to 2025-26.
Atletico started strongly at RCDE Stadium but were unable to beat Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, with Conor Gallagher, David Hancko and Alvarez all going close.
But Dmitrovic could do nothing to stop Atletico from taking a 37th-minute lead, with Alvarez picking out the top-left corner with a sensational free-kick from 25 yards out.
Alvarez came close to doubling his and Atletico's tally shortly before the hour, but could only rifle his shot against the woodwork, and the visitors were made to pay.
After Marcos Llorente had given away a needless foul, the resulting set-piece saw Miguel Rubio's sliding effort creep in at Jan Oblak's near post from inside the area.
And the comeback was complete six minutes from time when Omar El Hilali's delivery into the box was met by Milla's stooping header that looped over Oblak's outstretched arm.
Earlier in the day, Athletic Bilbao were also helped by some late heroics from Robert Navarro, whose 81st-minute goal helped his side edge a five-goal thriller 3-2 against Sevilla.
Two strikes in six minutes at the end of the first half from Nico Williams and Maroan Sannadi had Bilbao ahead, but Sevilla halved the deficit on the hour through Dodi Lukebakio.
Lucien Agoume restored parity at Estadio de San Mames in the 72nd minute, only for Bilbao substitute Navarro to seal the win with a bouncing volley into the top-right corner.
Data Debrief: Alvarez stunner proves in vain
Atletico appeared on course for a winning start to their LaLiga campaign thanks to Alvarez's moment of individual brilliance, with his strike from distance something we have become accustomed to seeing since his switch to the Spanish capital.
Indeed, since the start of the 2024-25 season, Alvarez has scored the joint-most direct free-kicks (three) in Europe's top five leagues across all competitions, level with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.
However, Atletico's wastefulness in the final third proved costly, with their 15 attempts generating an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.87, compared to Espanyol's 1.25 from their nine attempts.
The result also saw Atletico lose their opening match of a LaLiga campaign for the first time since August 2009, when they were beaten 3-0 away from home by Malaga.
