Atletico sinks as Las Palmas wins in stoppage-time
Atletico Madrid's LaLiga title charge could well be over after it conceded in the 93rd minute to allow Las Palmas a dramatic late win that in turn brought it out of the bottom three.
It was an attritional contest in Gran Canaria, but Atletico had plenty of chances to win the game, not least in the first half when Giuliano Simeone played a perfect cross into the path of Julian Alvarez, who saw his shot from inside the six-yard box saved by Dinko Horkas in the 37th minute.
The Las Palmas goalkeeper was called into action again four minutes later when Simeone again provided quality service from the right, this time for Alexander Sorloth, but the Norwegian's header was again superbly kept out by Horkas.
Simone had a chance of his own eight minutes from time, but dragged his shot wide, and as the game appeared to be petering out to a draw, good fortune stuck for the hosts.
With 92 minutes on this clocked, an awkward high ball fell kindly for Javier Munoz, how guided it past Jan Oblak for the winner.
Initially the assistant referee raised her flag, but after a brief check by the video assistant referee, the offside call was seen to be an error, sending the Las Palmas players and staff into wild celebrations with the fans.
Atletico remains in third on the table but is now 10 points adrift of LaLiga leader Barcelona and also three behind second-placed Real Madrid, which plays its match against Athletic Club on Monday (AEST).
At the other end of the table, a second straight win pulled Las Palmas out of the bottom three and two points clear of 18th-placed Alaves ahead of its clash with Sevilla on Monday (AEST).
Meanwhile Leganes is stuck in 19th after a damaging 0-0 draw against Real Mallorca earlier on Sunday (AEST), providing more hope for Las Palmas's bid for survival.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone seemed resigned to losing the last title Atletico was competing for this season, admitting the match "did not go as they had imagined".
"If we had any chance of winning the league, we had to get perfect numbers. We didn't," the Argentinean said.
"The first half was fairly solid, but we couldn't take the lead. The second half started flat, and we weren't able to create what we had imagined."
Simeone denied any lack of attitude by his players, but admitted that its tactical execution and individual performances fell short.
"It wasn't a matter of attitude, we just played badly," he said. "There was no fluidity, no chance to link up play.
"We set the game up a certain way and made changes to find solutions, but it didn't work."
The coach added that, despite having virtually lost the title, he will continue to approach each game with the same determination, while aiming to improve the team's defensive play.
"We always prepare with the same enthusiasm, and we will continue to take care of it as we have been doing for the past 14 years," Simeone said.
"We have struggled more in this last stretch than we did at the beginning of the season. Defence is a very important part of our game, and we need people who understand what we need."
