Atletico Madrid will have to wait to clinch a place in next season’s Champions League after being held to a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo on Tuesday.
Alvaro Morata scored in the opening minute before Francisco Beltran equalised for the hosts the other side of the break.
The result leaves Atleti four points away from qualifying for the top tier of European football with three games remaining and Celta are seven points clear of the relegation zone.
“It’s a difficult ground to visit, Celta play good football, where they are in the table isn’t justified by their football,” Morata told Movistar. “We’re ready now to finish our objective of third place. What we have to do is achieve our objective as quick as we can.”
Victory could have seen Atletico seal a top-four spot this week if other results had gone their way.
Earlier, South Korean teenager Lee Kang-in scored with two minutes to play to move Valencia to within a point of the Europa League places in a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid.
Lee, 19, clinched his side’s first victory since Albert Celades was sacked earlier this month and sent his outfit up to eighth, just behind Real Sociedad in the spot for the qualifying rounds for next season’s continental competition.