Alavés missed the chance to claim back-to-back home victories in LaLiga for the first time in over a year after being held to a goalless draw by Valencia — a result that extends the visitors’ winless run to four matches.

Following their 3-1 triumph in the previous round — the first time since the opening day that Alavés had scored more than once in a league game this season — there was early optimism at Mendizorroza. But any hopes of another free-flowing attacking display were quickly tempered. The only shot on target in the opening half-hour came from Valencia’s Arnaut Danjuma, whose low effort was comfortably gathered by Antonio Sivera.

Lucas Boyé carried the main threat for the hosts, first spinning neatly inside the box only to blaze over, before twice testing Julen Agirrezabala. The visiting goalkeeper first parried a fierce strike and then reacted sharply to deny a curling attempt from Pablo Ibáñez moments later.

Five minutes before the interval, Boyé again wriggled into space but dragged his shot wide, leaving the scores level at half-time despite Alavés’s growing dominance.

That control continued after the break. Within minutes, Toni Martínez fired narrowly wide of the near post and then saw his header from a free-kick tipped over the bar by Agirrezabala.

Valencia briefly threatened a breakthrough of their own, but Danjuma’s ambitious strike cleared the crossbar before Boyé headed over from a corner with 15 minutes to play.

The hosts came closest in the dying moments when a Denis Suárez free-kick from the left eluded everyone and struck the post. Boyé pounced on the rebound but skied his effort as the chance — and victory — slipped away.

While Alavés will be frustrated not to have found the winner, the draw was enough to lift them back into the top half — another sign of steady progress under Eduardo Coudet.

For Valencia, however, the result extended an unwelcome streak: seven visits to Mendizorroza without a win and five straight without a goal in the Basque Country. Still, unlike on recent trips north, this time they at least avoided defeat.