Atletico Madrid's horrible form in March continued as Javi Puado scored a second-half penalty to earn Espanyol a 1-1 draw in LaLiga on Saturday.

For the third league match in a row, Diego Simeone's side gave up a lead, with relegation-threatened Espanyol adding another dent to their title hopes.

There was little action in the opening half an hour, though Marcos Llorente thought he had given Atletico a third-minute lead, only for it to be disallowed as Antoine Griezmann was offside.

Marash Kumbulla's attempt to clear an Alexander Sorloth nod down reached Cesar Azpilicueta, whose calm right-footed shot from outside the box found the net in the 38th minute.

Sorloth missed a chance to double their lead shortly after the restart, missing by mere inches, and Espanyol were able to grow into the game.

Clement Lenglet's foul on Leandro Cabrera near the edge of the box saw the hosts awarded a penalty in the 69th minute, and Puado made no mistake from the spot, sending a powerful effort into the roof of the net from 12 yards.

Griezmann, who became the foreign player with the most LaLiga appearances in this game, attempted to find a late winner but saw his first-time low shot thwarted by Joan Garcia.

Atletico are now winless in their last three matches, having failed to end Espanyol's unbeaten home streak, and remain third on 57 points, six below leaders Barcelona. Espanyol, sit two points above the relegation zone on 29.

Data Debrief: Atletico are on a slippery slope

Atletico have just won one match in March, with that coming right back at the start, but since then, their hopes of a LaLiga title have drifted somewhat.

They are on their worst winless streak since October - November 2022 and struggled in front of goal, managing just two shots on target and accumulating 0.64 expected goals from their 13 attempts overall.

Griezmann had chances to influence the game in what was his 521st LaLiga appearance, overtaking Messi as the foreign player to feature the most in the competition, but ultimately, he could not help them get over the line.

And Espanyol are now unbeaten in nine matches on home soil, thanks to their captain. Puado is one of the five players with a 100% penalty conversion rate in LaLiga this season, of players to take three or more spot-kicks (3/3).