Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is happy as his club picked up "three very important points" after a victory over Valladolid.
Atletico Madrid registered a 1-0 win over their opponents in La Liga here on Sunday.
"We played well in the first half and had chances to take the lead. We weren't clinical, so we struggled. Valladolid had two or three counter-attacks," Simeone said in a video posted on the club's Twitter handle after the match.
"The second half was similar. They continued to defend very well. They closed every space possible and forced us to cross the ball. We pushed until we until we scored from an unexpected situation. It looked like it wasn't going to go in, but it did, narrowly. We pick up three very important points," he added.
Both the club competed aggressively against each other and restricted one another from taking a lead in the first half. The second half also witnessed a similar competition between the two clubs.
However, Vitolo broke the deadlock in the 81st minute, handing his side a 1-0 lead against Valladolid.
Due to the concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus, the matches are being played behind closed doors. The manager said the fans were not physically in the stadium but "their soul was".
"The fans weren't here physically but their soul was. You can feel that. The team has persisted and gone for the win. We won it in the end like it usually happens when the fans are here. It was tight but it was very important," he said.
Atletico Madrid is placed on the third position on the La Liga table, only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
( With inputs from ANI )