\u00c1lex Baena struck in the 89th minute to snatch Atl\u00e9tico Madrid a 1-0 win at Espanyol and put pressure on the La Liga leaders, Barcelona. Diego Simeone\u2019s side are second, two points behind Hansi Flick\u2019s champions, who visit third-placed Real Betis later on.<\/p>\n
Baena smashed home from the edge of the box to claim the Rojiblancos an important late victory from a tight game in Cornella. Atl\u00e9tico have now won six consecutive games across all competitions.<\/p>\n
Both sides had chances in the first half, but Espanyol<\/a> came closest as Leandro Cabrera struck the crossbar. Marcos Llorente hit the same woodwork after an hour with a long-range effort for Atl\u00e9tico.<\/p>\n Espanyol brought on Javi Puado after a long-term knee injury, as the captain made his first appearance since January. Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez was bright for Atl\u00e9tico as a substitute as he continues to find his form after trying to force a move away in the summer.<\/p>\n Atl\u00e9tico have left it late several times this season to claim points and did so again, with Baena thumping home from Alvarez\u2019s pass to earn his team\u2019s victory. Jan Oblak made a good save in stoppage time from Pol Lozano to ensure his team kept the three points.<\/p>\n On Sunday Real Madrid, fourth, host Sevilla among other fixtures. In the buildup to that game, the Real Madrid coach, Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, said on Saturday that if he were Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior<\/a> he would have left the club this summer. The Brazilian was sent off during Madrid\u2019s win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling and was banned for four matches, meaning he will miss the cl\u00e1sico against Barcelona on 25 October.<\/p>\n Vin\u00edcius, who signed a new contract tying him to Real Madrid<\/a> until 2032, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans and been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018.<\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 Mourinho with Ferlan Mendy (left) and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 at the Bernab\u00e9u as Real Madrid prepare to face Sevilla. Photograph: Daniel Gonzalez\/EPA<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a spectacular kid who it\u2019s easy to have a good relationship with,\u201d Mourinho said. \u201cHe\u2019s a fantastic boy, tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile…<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were me in his place, probably I wouldn\u2019t be here. In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him.\u201d<\/p>\n Mourinho took Vin\u00edcius off during the 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti. Mourinho said he was happy that Vin\u00edcius\u2019s ban was four matches, saying he thought some hidden figures at the Spanish football federation\u2019s disciplinary committee \u201cwould give him one or two more\u201d.<\/p>\n Dortmund\u2019s Julian Ryerson bows his head after the goalless draw with Union Berlin. Photograph: Clemens Bilan\/EPA<\/p>\n In Germany, Borussia Dortmund returned to the top of the Bundesliga table despite a stodgy 0-0 draw away to Union Berlin. Serhou Guirassy had a golden chance to snatch all three points for his side at the end of a match of few opportunities, but headed just wide with 11 minutes remaining to cap a poor game up front for the Dortmund striker.<\/p>\n Bayern Munich host RB Leipzig in Saturday\u2019s final match and can leapfrog Dortmund into top spot with victory.<\/p>\n After starting the season strongly with six wins in a row in all competitions, Dortmund have stalled of late, drawing two and losing one of their last three matches. Compounding Dortmund\u2019s woes was a serious-looking ankle injury to Konstantinos Karetsas, who was helped from the pitch just eight minutes after coming on.<\/p>\n