Alaves 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Simeone's wait for first league win goes on

Atletico Madrid's wait for a first win of the 2025-26 LaLiga season continued after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Alaves at Estadio de Mendizorroza. 

Diego Simeone's side were made to pay for a glut of missed opportunities in the contest, with their profligacy in the final third leaving them 14th in the standings. 

Atletico hit the front in the seventh minute through Giuliano Simeone, who rode Moussa Diarra's challenge inside the box before sending a left-footed effort into the roof of the net. 

But Alaves restored parity six minutes later after Alexander Sorloth fouled Nahuel Tenaglia, with Carlos Vicente stepping up to dispatch the resulting penalty past Jan Oblak's dive. 

The visitors were unable to trouble Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera for the remainder of the first half, with David Hancko and Clement Lenglet both firing wide of the mark. 

Atletico continued to struggle in their attempts to break down Alaves' stern defensive rearguard, but they were handed a huge chance to snatch all three points late on. 

An outswinging corner slipped through Sivera's grasp, but at the back post, substitute Antoine Griezmann could only fire against the woodwork from a tight angle. 

There was an additional 15 minutes of stoppage time following a medical emergency in the crowd, but Atletico were unable to find a way through as their winless start went on. 

Data Debrief: Trouble in paradise?

Ahead of kick-off, Simeone called for calm from Atletico supporters after failing to win their first two league matches, but there may be cause for concern after this result. 

Atletico slightly edged the expected goals (xG) battle, registering a tally of 1.09 from their 15 attempts to Alaves' 0.92 from their five shots, but they were unable to get over the line. 

Indeed, the stalemate means Simeone has started a season at Atletico without winning any of his first three league games for the first time, while it is the first time the club has done so since 2009-10 under Abel Resino, when they failed to win in their first five (D3 L2).