Marco Asensio has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by Nacho.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! ASENSIO WRAPS UP THE GAME FOR MADRID!!!! 3-1!!!!! Asensio produces a clinical finish on his left foot following a great run from Nacho. The defender drives forward from the back and spots Asensio in acres of space. The Spaniard takes a good first touch before lifting his strike over Pacheco into the back of the net.
Nacho picks the ball up in his own half and surges forward to the edge of the Espanyol box. He offloads to Asensio, who completes a composed finish.
90'
Á. Rodríguez enters the game and replaces Vinícius Júnior.
Alvaro enters the action to replace Vincius for the home side.
There will be five minutes of added time.
89'
Braithwaite tries an audacious flick from Darder's cross, but he can only glance his header well over the top.
87'
Dani Carvajal gets yellow.
Carvajal boots the ball away and goes into the book for timewasting.
86'
Dani Ceballos gets yellow.
Ceballos brings down Melamed on the right flank, presenting the visitors a free-kick in a useful position.
85'
Melamed replaces Gomez for the visitors for the closing stages.
84'
Aleix Vidal enters the game and replaces R. Pierre-Gabriel.
Nico Melamed enters the game and replaces Sergi Gómez.
Vidal replaces the ailing Pierre-Gabriel at right-back for Espanyol.
83'
Pierre-Gabriel has hurt himself in the process of making the interception and will have to make way.
82'
Pierre-Gabriel does well to stretch to prevent Ceballos' throughball from reaching Vinicius in the final third. The Brazilian would have been through on goal there.
Minute
Description
79'
Militao does well at the back for Los Blancos to direct a dangerous cross from Suarez away from the Madrid penalty area. There's still work for Los Blancos to do to see this result out.
78'
SAVE! Vinicius has space in the final third and he drills his effort low and hard towards goal. Pacheco watches it all the way and gets down to make the stop.
75'
Denis Suárez enters the game and replaces José Gragera.
Javi Puado enters the game and replaces Rubén Sánchez.
Puado enters the action for the visitors and is replaced by Puado.
Suarez enters the action for Espanyol to replace Gragera in the middle of the park.
74'
Dani Ceballos enters the game and replaces T. Kroos.
A. Rüdiger enters the game and replaces A. Tchouaméni.
Tchouameni also makes way for Los Blancos for Rudiger, which will see Nacho shift out to left-back and Camavinga move forward.
Kroos makes way from the field and is replaced by Ceballos.
73'
Vinicius brings down Camavinga on the edge of the Espanyol box, handing Madrid a free-kick in a threatening position.
72'
Marco Asensio enters the game and replaces L. Modrić.
Asensio replaces Modric for the home side, which may see Valverde dropping back into the midfield.
69'
R. Pierre-Gabriel enters the game and replaces Óscar Gil.
Gil is withdrawn by the visitors and is replaced by Pierre-Gabriel.
68'
Vinicius probes down the left flank and runs at Gil. The defender does well to win the ball and knock it off the Brazilian to earn a goal-kick.
65'
Kroos floats a cross into the box from the left flank, but Montes is the first to reach the ball and heads it away from danger.
64'
Gragera brings down Vinicius with a loose challenge and gives away a free-kick, although once again the referee keeps his yellow card in his pocket.
63'
Carvajal clatters into Cabrera and catches the defender with an outstretched hand. He gives away a free-kick, but escapes a booking.
60'
Vinicius collects on the left flank and tries to steer a low cross towards Rodrygo with the outside of his right foot. Gomez spots the danger and makes a good clearance on the slide.
58'
Rodrygo has a run at Sanchez down the left flank, but the defender holds his ground well to stab the ball behind for a Madrid corner.
56'
Óscar Gil gets yellow.
Gil takes out Vinicius off the ball to block off his run and goes into the book.
CHANCE! Espanyol eventually do win a corner and the ball travels through to Cabrera from Darder's delivery. He takes a touch and fires at goal, only to scuff his attempt wide of the target.
54'
Courtois does extremely well at the back to dive to his right to prevent an Espanyol corner after Joselu's effort was deflected wide of the target by Militao.
53'
Gil is back on his feet after being checked over by the medical staff and the game resumes.
52'
A concern for Gil as Rodrygo collides with the defender. He remains down after being caught on the side of the head.
49'
Modric angles a dangerous low ball towards Rodrygo in the box from the right flank, but Vinicius is on hand for the visitors to clear the danger.
48'
Joselu lines up an ambitious strike from the half-way line with Courtois off his line, but his attempt travels harmlessly wide of the target.
47'
Madrid are unbeaten in their last 58 LaLiga matches when leading at half-time (W54, D4) dating back to 17th February 2019 against Girona (L1-2).
46'
We're back under way at the Bernabeu.
45'
HALF-TIME: REAL MADRID 2-1 ESPANYOL
44'
Modric takes the resulting corner, but his delivery lands on the roof of the net to hand the visitors respite before the interval.
43'
Rodrygo latches onto another offload from Vinicius in the inside-left channel, but his effort towards goal is deflected behind by Gomez.
39'
Éder Militão has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by A. Tchouaméni.
Carvajal releases Rodygo in the inside-right channel, but Gomez gets across to divert his cross behind for a corner.
Tchouameni latches on to a good pass from Vinicius before delivering a perfect cross with the outside of his right foot to find Militao to score.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! MILITAO POWERS A HEADER PAST PACHECO!!!! 2-1 MADRID!!!!!! Militao latches on to a precise cross from Tchouameni and he thumps his header into the net off the underside of the bar. Vinicius finds Tchouameni in space down the inside-left channel and he produces a brilliant delivery with the outside of his right foot. Militao is well placed at the back post and plants his header home.
37'
There's no way out for Espanyol at the moment. It is a constant tide of Madrid attacks and the visitors seem to be looking to hang on until the break.
35'
BLOCK! Kroos powers a strike from the free-kick towards goal, but his effort slams straight into Montes' head before the visitors clear the danger.
34'
Gragera brings down Rodygo on the edge of the Espanyol box, handing the home side a free-kick in a dangerous position.
33'
Vinicius charges back upfield for Madrid and looks for an early strike at goal, but his effort is blocked by Gil to stymie the attack.
32'
Vinícius Júnior gets yellow.
Vinicius brings down Sanchez on a break down the right flank and he goes into the book.
29'
Madrid have found their rhythm now and are all over Espanyol at the back. The visitors need a way to stem the tide.
22'
Vinícius Júnior has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by T. Kroos.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! VINICIUS LEVELS FOR MADRID!!!!!! 1-1!!!!!!! Los Blancos get the equaliser as Vinicius is allowed to cut inside on his right foot before bending a sublime strike into the bottom-right corner. Kroos sends the Brazilian down the left flank and he uses a supporting run from Camavinga to open up room inside and then produced a special finish to beat Pacheco.
Kroos sends an offload to Vinicius down the left flank, who does the rest with a fine solo effort.
19'
L. Cabrera gets yellow.
Cabrera pulls back Rodrygo on the charge down the right flank and goes into the box. Madrid have a free-kick in a good position.
Montes rises highest in the box to clear the danger from Kroos' free-kick. The German did not have a lot of options to hit there.
17'
Madrid have not started at all here. Los Blancos are very fortunate not to be two goals down to Espanyol, who have enjoyed a fine start to the contest.
14'
Camavinga continues to struggle in his defensive duties as he gives away a free-kick for a foul on Joselu.
12'
Madrid have been handed an early setback and have struggled to get going in the final third against the visitors. Ancelotti's men need a spark.
8'
Joselu has scored a goal for Espanyol! Assist by Rubén Sánchez.
WHAT A GOAL!!!!! JOSELU FIRES ESPANYOL AHEAD!!!!! 1-0!!!! Joselu dispatches a first-time strike on his left foot into the top-right corner to put the visitors in front. Sergi Gomez starts the move with a brilliant cross-field pass to Sanchez down the right flank. He breaks in behind Camavinga and steers a low ball into the box that Joselu finishes with a perfect strike giving Courtois no chance.
Sanchez makes a good run down the right flank and he delivers a fine ball for Joselu to smash home.
7'
Sanchez is allowed to break forward out of the Espanyol half and he reaches the edge of the box before Nacho and Camavinga combine to halt his progress.
4'
Vinicius probes down the left flank and reaches the edge of the box before he loses out to solid defending from Sanchez.
3'
Darder swings the resulting corner into the box that Cabrera steers towards goal, but Courtois makes a comfortable claim under his bar.
1'
We're under way at the Bernabeu.
Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the LaLiga clash between Real Madrid and Espanyol at the Bernabeu.
Madrid enter the contest on the back of a three-match winless run in all competitions. Carlo Ancelotti's men have been held to draws in their last two LaLiga outings at the hands of Atletico Madrid and Real Betis, with a defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey sandwiched between. Los Blancos need a victory to put the pressure back on Barca in the title race as they currently trail their rivals by nine points. Madrid have no margin for error between now and the end of the season.
Espanyol's recent resurgence was ended last week in a 2-1 defeat to Real Valladolid. The Catalan club had reeled off back-to-back wins over Elche and Mallorca to ease their relegation woes, but their loss last week has left them only two points clear of the drop zone. In a tight battle at the bottom Espanyol are going to need every point and a resolute performance this afternoon could make all the difference.
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Nacho Fernandez, Eduardo Camavinga; Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric; Federico Valverde, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.
REAL MADRID SUBS: Jesus Vallejo, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin, Alvaro Odriozola, Lucas Vazquez, Dani Ceballos, Antonio Rudiger, Mariano Diaz, Luis Lopes, Alvaro Rodriguez.
ESPANYOL (4-4-2): Fernandp Pacheco; Oscar Gil, Sergi Gomez, Cesar Montes, Leandro Cabrera; Ruben Sanchez, Vinicius, Jose Gragera, Sergi Darder; Martin Braithwaite, Joselu.
ESPANYOL SUBS: Pere Joan, Fernando Calero, Denis Suarez, Javier Puado, Brian Olivan, Jose Carlos Lazo, Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, Dani Gomez, Edu Exposito, Nicolas Melamed, Aleix Vidal, Alvaro Fernandez.
Espanyol made a bright start to the contest and took a deserved lead through Joselu. However, after they failed to get the second goal, Madrid penned them back in their own half and duly punished the visitors. Diego Martinez's men have to find an outball in the second half to try to get back into the game.
Thanks for joining our commentary. Until next time, goodbye.
Madrid are next in action against Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash on Wednesday at the Bernabeu. Espanyol play Celta Vigo in their next outing at home next Saturday.
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