Diego Simeone remains confident that Atletico Madrid's "best player" Julian Alvarez will return to form at an important moment, after he misfired against Real Sociedad.
Atleti were held to a 1-1 draw at the Anoeta on Sunday, with Alexander Sorloth's header early in the second half being quickly cancelled out by Goncalo Guedes' strike.
That result saw Los Colchoneros lose even more ground at the top of LaLiga, with 11 points now separating Simeone's team – who are fourth – from leaders Barcelona, ahead of the Supercopa de Espana taking place in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Atleti could have built a comfortable lead early on if not for two big misses from Alvarez, who failed to get a shot on target or lay on a chance for a team-mate on Sunday.
The Argentine leads all Atleti players for goals (11) and goal involvements (17 – six assists) in all competitions this season, but he has now gone three matches without scoring and has only hit the net once in his last seven outings.
Simeone, though, remains content with Alvarez's work rate and feels that if he maintains those levels, the goals will return.
"He is a player who has given us a lot since he arrived and now that he cannot give us what he wants, we are looking for the reason," Simeone said.
"As long as I see that he runs, that he has intensity, as long as he behaves as he does... He's the best player we have, and his time will come at a very important time."
La Real won the expected goals battle by 1.73 xG to 1.25, outshooting Atleti by 18 to 10, but with Conor Gallagher and Antoine Griezmann also passing up presentable opportunities, Simeone felt his team did enough to take all three points.
"We had four clear scoring chances, from Julian, Conor and Antoine," he said.
"They played a good game. They pressured us. Football is all about space, I always say that.
"We already saw it in Saturday's match between Espanyol and Barcelona, where one team generates chances and the other scores them."
Atleti take on cross-city rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Supercopa on Thursday, with the winners of that tie meeting Barcelona or Athletic Club in the showpiece match.