Atletico Madrid's fading hopes of winning the LaLiga title suffered another blow after being held to a goalless draw away to relegation-threatened Deportivo Alaves.

A drab performance leaves Atletico nine points behind leaders Barcelona, who could extend that advantage when they travel to Real Valladolid later on Saturday.

Julian Alvarez was dismissed for planting a high boot on Facundo Garces, though the red card was overturned after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor following a VAR review in an uneventful first half.

Diego Simeone made five changes in the second half in a bid to shake up the game, but Atletico were unable to find a decisive goal.

Kike Garcia almost grabbed a late winner for the hosts but saw his low effort palmed away by Jan Oblak as Alaves moved up to 16th and three points clear of the relegation places.

Data Debrief: Atletico's Alaves struggles continue

Atletico have only won two of their last eight LaLiga away games (D3 L3) after this drab draw at Alaves.

Simeone's side have 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 that they have played five times or more.

This was far from a classic on Saturday, with Atletico only accumulating 0.54 expected goals to Alaves' 0.61 as both sides amassed just two shots on target each in a hard-fought clash.

There are not many positives for Simeone to take from this, though Atletico have now kept a clean sheet in 15 of their 34 games, more than any other side in LaLiga this season.