Alaves 0-0 Atletico
Atletico Madrid Lacks Energy: Simeone’s Unmotivated and Tired Team
Atletico Madrid was held to a goalless draw at Alaves, failing to close the gap with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid, with four weeks left in La Liga, still mathematically has a chance to catch Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Simeone’s team seems more focused on securing third place. Today, they failed to win against Alaves, ending in a 0-0 draw. Athletic Bilbao, with a game in hand, is now seven points behind Atletico, and if they win this week, the gap will shrink to four points.
In the early minutes, Alaves, fueled by their home crowd, outperformed Atletico. However, after 15 minutes, Simeone’s team gradually took control of the game.
Despite having all their key players, Atletico struggled to create dangerous chances in attack.
In the 41st minute, while fans and viewers were frustrated by the dull match, an incident shocked Atletico. The red card shown to Julian Alvarez could have been a fatal blow to Atletico’s hopes in this game.
Julian Alvarez was initially sent off for a strong challenge on Garces, but after VAR review, the referee overturned the decision, and Alvarez stayed on the pitch.
The first half ended goalless, and both teams went into the break with little excitement.
The second half started with better quality, and Atletico pressed forward with more energy. Alaves also looked dangerous on counterattacks.
After 15 minutes, Simeone made changes. Lino replaced Simeone’s son, and Sorloth came on for Griezmann. Later, De Paul was substituted for Koke. Barrios, one of Atletico’s best performers, was also replaced by Correa. Even Gallagher, who had a good game, was taken off in the 72nd minute for Nahuel Molina.
Alaves created another dangerous chance late in the game. Kike Garcia fired a powerful shot, but Oblak saved Atletico for the second time in the match.
Interestingly, after Atletico’s substitutions, Alaves gained the upper hand. In the 73rd minute, they created their most dangerous chance, and if not for Oblak’s brilliant save, Kike Garcia could have put Alaves ahead.
In the dying minutes, Sorloth missed a golden opportunity. A superb pass from Julian Alvarez set him up one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he failed to score what could have been the winning goal for Atletico.
The match ended in a goalless draw. Atletico remains in third place with 67 points, five behind Real Madrid and nine behind Barcelona, with one more game played than both.
