Malaga CF were denied a first La Liga win of the season in controversial circumstances on Friday night as Aitor Mañas struck in the 89th minute to earn Deportivo Alavés a 1-1 draw at the Estadio de Mendizorroza.
The equaliser left the visitors angry, as it came shortly after what appeared to be a stamp on Ángel Recio's ankle that went unpunished by VAR.
The Basque hosts, who had collected nine of their 11 points at home, started brightly and Nahuel Tenaglia tested Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero early on. However, clear chances were scarce once the visitors, set up in a back five by coach Juanfran Funes, settled into the game.
Malaga's first real opening came five minutes before the break, when Adrián Niño picked out Carlos Dotor in the area, but the midfielder fired over.
They made their next chance count, though. On the stroke of half time, Ramón Enríquez threaded a pass through to Niño, who took two touches before beating Antonio Sivera at his near post. The goal, initially flagged for offside, eventually stood following a VAR review.
After the restart, the game then went quiet for a while, with Malaga defending in numbers but lacking the quality to break out of their own half.
On a rare foray forward, substitute wing-back José Salinas forced Sivera into a save as Malaga looked for a second goal.
Chaotic finish
Alavés eventually stepped things up when Ángel Pérez's cross from the right found Toni Martínez, whose clever flick was instinctively kept out by Herrero's thigh.
Quique Sánchez Flores' side then came close when Lucas Boyé swivelled on the edge of the box and hit the left post.
With the clock running down, Malaga's resistance finally broke. With just minutes remaining, Herrero pulled off a spectacular save to deny Martínez's header, but the ball fell kindly for Mañas, who fired home the rebound.
Boyé almost completed the turnaround moments later, but his effort from the edge of the box deflected just wide.
The point lifts Alavés, who are now without a win in six league games, to 12 points from ten matches. Malaga remain bottom with five points and, following their midweek Copa del Rey adventure, travel to Real Betis at La Cartuja on Saturday 31 October (6.30pm), where they will need a much better performance to end their winless run.