Atletico Madrid’s title chances took another hit after a scoreless draw at advanced Alaves in the Spanish league on Saturday. “We won a point, which is more than we could have hoped for in this game,” Simeone said. “It was not a good game in general. We need to improve.”
Atletico, which had won three in succession before bearing the two consecutive setbacks, was outflanked by Alaves amid most of the match at Mendizorroza Stadium.
The host’s best scoring possibility was a close-go shot by shield Victor Laguardia that struck the crossbar in the 30th moment. Off the bounce back, striker Deyverson missed the open net with a header.
Atletico missed its best scoring opportunity in the second half, when Nicolas Gaitan broke free toward the objective however wasn’t ready to get a shot off as Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco charged from the net to snatch the ball far from the midfielder’s feet in the 78th.
It was the second consecutive league draw for Atletico, keeping Diego Simeone’s group in fourth place, seven points off the lead. It is also in peril of dropping further behind in the battle for a programmed spot for the Champions League, as it was five points behind third-put Barcelona. The leaders play on Sunday. “We leave with the feeling that we deserved more,” Alaves coach Mauricio Pellegrino said. “We played a great match against a great rival.”
Atletico ‘s Jose Gimenez left the match ahead of schedule in the second half because of an obvious muscle harm.
Alaves, winless in four matches, stayed twelfth in the 20-group standings. It is playing in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, confronting Celta Vigo in the first leg on Thursday in Vigo.
Bruno Soriano scored in the first half, and Alvaro Gonzalez in the second, to stay sixth and in position to battle for a spot in the European competitions next season.
Granada is last after its fourth thrashing in the last five matches. Alexandre Pato was not in Villarreal’s lineup because he is consulting to move to Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian.
