The fading hope of Atletico Madrid to win the LaLala title suffered another blow after he had been held to a scoreless draw to be relegation during Deportivo Alaves.
A boring version leaves Atletico nine points behind leaders Barcelona, who could extend that benefit if they travel to Real Valladolid later on Saturday.
Julian Alvarez was fired for planting a high boot on Facundo Garces, although the red card was destroyed after the referee had consulted the pitchside monitor after a VAR assessment in a quiet first half.
Diego Simeone made five changes in an attempt to shake up the game in the second half, but Atletico could not find a decisive goal.
Kike Garcia almost took a late winner for the hosts, but saw his low effort weakened by Jan Oblak when Alaves moved to 16th and three points from the relegation places.
Draw in Vitoria. pic.twitter.com/dqqkqie5xe
– Atlético de Madrid (@atleti Glish) 3 May 2025
Data debrief: Alaves wrestings from Atletico continue
Atletico has won only two of their last eight Laliga Away matches (D3 L3) after this boring draw at Alaves.
The side of Simeone has also scored in just five of their 14 LaLiga visits to Alaves, with their 36% percentage their lowest on the road against an opponent in their entire history in the competition they have played five times or more.
This was far from a classic on Saturday, in which Atletico only collected 0.54 expected goals to 0.61 from Alaves, because both parties only collected two shots on target in a hard -fought collision.
There are not many positive points for Simeone to take out of this, although Atletico has now held a clean slate in 15 of their 34 games, more than any other side in LaLiga this season.