Valencia held at Alavés to 1-1 before Atalanta visit in CL

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Valencia was held at Alavés to 1-1 on Friday, four days before it must overcome a big deficit to stay in the Champions League.

Valencia’s winless streak on the road reached five consecutive games as it stayed in seventh place in the Spanish league.

Valencia will host Italian side Atalanta on Tuesday without spectators at Mestalla Stadium for fears of the coronavirus outbreak. Atalanta won the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie 4-1.

Midfielder Dani Parejo put the visitors ahead in the 34th minute when he drove a free kick into the top corner of the net for his eighth goal in the competition.

After Valencia failed to press for a second goal, Alavés leveled in the 73rd when Edgar Méndez fired in a pass that Víctor Laguardia headed on from a free kick.

Alavés climbed to 11th place in the 20-team league.

Leader Real Madrid visits Real Betis on Sunday. Barcelona trails Madrid by a point before hosting Real Sociedad on Saturday. Third-placed Sevilla visits fifth-placed Atlético Madrid also on Saturday.

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