Atleti appeared to be moving ahead of Real Madrid in the fight to finish second as they sprinted to a 3-0 lead after seeing their rivals Real Madrid overtake them with a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. Saul Niguez opened the scoring with a left-footed finish from a tight angle after 21 minutes, and Diego Simeone's team went in front on the verge of halftime thanks to Antoine Griezmann's 14th league goal of the year. Within 14 seconds of the restart, Atleti increased their lead even more when Yannick Carrasco gave them another goal. 

However, Espanyol, who were struggling for their own existence near the bottom of La Liga, were in no mood to give up. Before Joselu could score from the penalty spot thanks to Ivo Grbic's foul on Javier Puado, Cesar Montes blasted a header in from a right-wing corner. Then, with 11 minutes remaining, Vinicius thwarted Atleti's push for a second with a looping header from Aleix Vidal's cross.