Atletico Madrid squandered a chance to cut the gap to stuttering La Liga leaders Barcelona to nine points when they were held to a 0-0 draw at fourth-placed Malaga on Sunday.
With two of the meanest defences in the Spanish top flight on display, goals were always going to be at a premium and neither side were able to seriously trouble the opposing goalkeeper in a tight game at the Rosaleda.
Malaga captain Weligton sent a header narrowly wide with around 15 minutes left and the home side just managed to clear their lines after a scramble in the penalty area in the dying minutes but both teams appeared content to settle for a draw.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised his players for another strong performance after they saw off Sevilla and clinched a place in the King's Cup final on Wednesday.
"After playing an extremely important match four days ago, with a lot of pressure and a significant mental effort, today the team responded with the 90 minutes we needed to remain near the top of the league," he told a news conference.