Celta Vigo’s wait for a first La Liga win of the season continues after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by 10-man Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
The result leaves the Galician side still searching for their elusive first victory, while Atletico missed an opportunity to climb into the top four.
Atletico drew first blood just six minutes in when Pablo Barrios was played through on the right flank, delivering a low cross that deflected off Celta defender Carl Starfelt and into his own net.
The early setback could have rattled Celta, but they showed resilience despite facing a well-organized Atletico side under Diego Simeone.
The visitors were handed an unexpected boost, however, when Clement Lenglet was sent off five minutes before the break.
The French centre-back received a second yellow card for pulling back Celta winger Ferran Jutgla near the right touchline, leaving Atletico to defend with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
Despite the numerical advantage, Celta initially struggled to break through Atletico’s defence, but their persistence paid off in the 68th minute.
Substitute Iago Aspas, marking his 533rd appearance to become Celta’s joint-highest appearance maker alongside club legend Manolo, scored a composed close-range finish.
Oscar Mingueza’s teasing cross found Borja Iglesias, whose shot was brilliantly saved by Jan Oblak, only for the rebound to fall kindly to Aspas, who tapped home to level the scores.
From that moment on, Celta dominated possession and spent much of the remainder of the game in Atletico’s half, pushing for a decisive winner.
However, despite registering 18 shots compared to Atletico’s six, the hosts struggled to seriously trouble Oblak, with most attempts coming from distance.
The xG (expected goals) data underlined Celta’s superiority, with 2.04 compared to Atletico’s 0.3.
The draw marks Celta’s sixth stalemate in eight games this season (D6 L2), leaving them rooted in 16th place and without a win, equalling their worst start to a LaLiga campaign since 1956.
That season, they eventually recovered to finish 13th, offering some hope for the current campaign.
For Aspas, however, there was plenty to celebrate. In addition to making club history, he scored his 216th goal in Celta colours, reinforcing his status as a club legend. Atletico, meanwhile, will rue Lenglet’s dismissal.
Over the past decade, only a handful of players, Djene Dakonam (eight), Chimy Avila, and Domingos Duarte (seven each), have received more red cards in LaLiga than the six accumulated by Lenglet.
Celta will look back on this game as a missed opportunity to claim a breakthrough win, while Atletico will hope to recover quickly from a frustrating setback that leaves them with just one point from Vigo.
