La Liga: Atletico Madrid suffer an Alaves shock

Defending La Liga champions Atletico Madrid missed a chance to regain the lead in the league as they suffered a shock 1-0 loss against last-placed Alaves on Saturday.

Victor Laguardia scored with a header off a corner four minutes into the match to give Alaves its first points of the season. The defeat has also ended Atlético’s seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions this season.

Atlético stayed in second place on the La Liga table, two points behind leaders Real Madrid. Real can go 5 points clear when they host Villarreal later on Saturday.

Diego Simeone‘s team has won only one of its last four matches in all competitions, with the only goals during that run coming from Luis Suarez late in the 2-1 come-from-behind win at Getafe on Tuesday.

Suarez could not come through on Saturday, and Antoine Griezmann continued to disappoint in his return to Atlético after a two-year stint with Barcelona. The French forward is yet to score in eight games with Atlético this season.

Simeone could not count on Portugal forward João Félix because of a two-game suspension for disrespecting a referee.

“Alavés played very well defensively and deserved the victory. It is normal to go through difficult moments during the season and that is probably happening to us right now,” Simeone was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

The home victory kept Alavés from equaling its worst-ever start to the league after six straight losses in 2017-18. The win also moved the team off the bottom of the league.

Alavés hadn’t beaten Atlético in the league since 2003, with eight losses and four draws in that span.

The only team left without a point to start the season is Getafe, which visits Real Betis on Sunday.

In other La Liga news, Valencia rallied late with 10 men to draw 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao at home, halting a two-game losing streak.

Bilbao took the lead with a goal from Iñigo Martínez in the 69th minute but Marcos André equalized five minutes into stoppage time at Mestalla Stadium.

The hosts had lost Maxi Gómez with a red card in the 82nd minute. The victory moved Valencia to fifth place on the table, while Athletic stayed in seventh place.