Atletico Madrid huffed and puffed against Lokomotiv Moscow but had to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw at home in the Champions League on Wednesday which left it with plenty to do if it is to reach the knockout stages.
Atletico thought it had found a breakthrough midway through the second half when Koke netted on the rebound after a shot from Yannick Carrasco but the goal was eventually ruled out for a narrow offside following a VAR review.
Defender Jose Gimenez then missed a glorious chance to grab the winner in the closing stages, rising to meet a corner but narrowly heading wide of the near post.
The draw left Atletico second in Group A on five points after four games, with Lokomotiv third on three. Bayern Munich has already qualified with 12 while RB Salzburg is last with one.
Atletico hosts Bayern next week before visiting Salzburg in its final game and may have to win both matches to guarantee its passage to the last 16.
Lokomotiv almost stole a winner deep in added time with a rare venture into Atletico's area but Stefan Savic made a crucial challenge to prevent what would have been a disastrous goal for the Spaniards and a lifeline for the Russians.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone was denied the luxury of rotating his squad as numerous players were ruled out through injury or positive coronavirus tests, and he started with 10 of the 11 players who beat Barcelona 1-0 in La Liga on Saturday.
His side still made a flying start and should have taken the lead in the second minute when Marcos Llorente crossed to Joao Felix, but the 126 million-euro forward failed to properly make contact with the ball.
Llorente, Carrasco and Angel Correa all tested visiting keeper Guilherme later in the first half as Atletico ended the game with 20 shots on goal to Lokomotiv's four, while the visitor only had one attempt on target.
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