Barcelona went through four La Liga games without a win after being tied 1-1 by Alaves, who played for 10 people, placing Ronald Koeman’s squad in 12th place.

Luis Rioja put Alaves ahead after Barca goalkeeper Neto’s mistake, with Antoine Griezmann equalizing in the second half, a minute after Jota Peleteiro was sent off.

But with the advantage of a player with 30 minutes left in the game, Barcelona failed to take advantage of the opportunity to chase victory after losing to Getafe and Real Madrid, as well as a draw with Sevilla.

Madrid, who beat Huesca 4-1, are now eight points ahead of Barca while Atletico are six points ahead of the Catalan club after beating Osasunia 3-1. Atletico play less than one match against Madrid.

“I was very disappointed. Again we did not play well to get the desired result.

“The first goal was a gift and then we created a lot of opportunities but did not take advantage of it,” Koeman said.

Koeman’s decision to replace Ansu Fati who performed better than Lionel Messi with 12 minutes left in the game was also surprising.

Fati is sharper than Messi who has not scored a goal since the open game.