Simeone praises his side after win against Valladolid as Atletico targets top four finish

Atletico Madrid defeated Real Valladolid by w lone goal at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday night encounter.

Vitolo came off the bench and headed home the 81st-minute winner for Atletico in a 1-0 victory at home to Valladolid on Saturday.

"It's always important to take something from a game and even better when you win," Simeone said. "There were things to improve, but we've had three months without a normal preparation and then you're playing every three days.

"There's a need to adapt and reinvent yourself, given the circumstances. This was a very important win.

"We had chances in the first half and couldn't score, then in the second half it was tough against a very organised side. We could have won or lost, but we achieved a great result."

Atletico moved back up to third in the standings – level on points with Sevilla after 30 games and four clear of Getafe – in the race for Champions League qualification.