Alex Baena's late winner keeps Atletico Madrid's run going at Espanyol

Nineteen points after nine matchdays, second place in the table and six straight wins in all competitions, that is where Atletico Madrid stand after Saturday night. The latest was the narrowest of them, a 0-1 win away to Espanyol in Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid, settled by Alejandro Baena in the 89th minute. It was another tight match, but right now Atletico are handling those nights well.

Europa Press, in comments translated from Spanish, reported: "Atlético de Madrid beat RCD Espanyol 0-1 this Saturday on matchday nine of LaLiga EA Sports, in a match in which a goal from Álex Baena in the 89th minute was enough for Diego Pablo Simeone's side to celebrate their fifth consecutive victory in the domestic competition and their sixth in all competitions."

The minute of the goal is one of the few small points of disagreement. Europa Press and So Foot place it in the 89th minute, while another report uses 90th-minute timing. The bigger detail is unchanged either way, Baena delivered the winner right at the end.

Baena is becoming Atletico's decisive attacker

Baena came off the bench in the 62nd minute for Lee Kang-In and changed the game. So Foot, quoted in French, described the move like this: "The former Villarreal player perfectly converted Julián Álvarez's offering by beating Angel Fortuno from outside the Pericos penalty area (0-1, 89th)."

That finish took Baena to five La Liga goals in nine appearances. For an attacking midfielder, that is an excellent return, and it lines up with the feeling that he is becoming the player Atletico turn to when matches tighten up.

There is no need to overstate one goal into a season-defining moment, but his output already gives Diego Simeone a real edge. Atletico do not always blow teams away. They still play plenty of matches that stay level deep into the second half, and players who can decide those games are usually the difference between a good run and a serious one.

Julián Alvarez will take some credit too. He only has one league assist so far, but this one mattered because it supplied the winning move when the game was drifting toward a frustrating draw.

Atletico's run is now the bigger story

The goal grabbed the headline, but Atletico's consistency is the more important development. This was their sixth consecutive win in all competitions and their fifth straight league win. After matchday nine they are on 19 points and still two behind Barcelona.

That does not prove anything beyond October, and it would be wrong to claim more than the table allows. Still, second place with a two-point gap is exactly where a contender should want to be at this stage, especially when the wins keep coming in different kinds of matches.

This one certainly was not comfortable. Espanyol stayed alive through a string of saves from Ángel Fortuño, and Leandro Cabrera hit the crossbar before the break. Atletico had control for long stretches without finding the finish until late on.

Even after Baena scored, the game still needed one more intervention. Jan Oblak preserved the 1-0 win in stoppage time by stopping Pol Lozano's volley, which was a reminder that narrow away wins are usually secured at both ends.

Espanyol made Atletico work for it, but the away side still found the one moment that counted. Atletico leave the RCDE Stadium with 19 points, five straight league wins and a late goal from Baena that kept them two points behind Barcelona after nine games.