Antoine Griezmann's penalty was enough as Atletico Madrid moved up to second in LaLiga after claiming an unremarkable 1-0 win over Espanyol, as the Frenchman reached 200 career goals for club and country.
Espanyol produced a fine performance given their wretched form, but Atletico just about managed to earn the victory which moves them back above Sevilla at least until Sunday thanks to Griezmann.
The visitors looked considerably more threatening in the first half, with Jan Oblak having to be at his best to deny Borja Iglesias and one-time Atletico striker Leo Baptistao.
But Espanyol's attacking threat fizzled out somewhat after the break and Atletico made the most of that, with Griezmann's penalty proving decisive and inflicting a sixth successive league defeat on Espanyol, their worst run since 2003.