Atletico Madrid bossDiego Simeonehas stated the importance of the Spanish club's late winner over relegation candidates Granadaat theEstadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday night.
TheLa Liga clash lacked great quality in thefinalthird throughout with both sides spurning good chances.
Very important victory in Granada! ï'Œ
Thanks fans for fighting with us until the last minute! �� ⚪�#GoAtleti ����� pic.twitter.com/6xoFxU7lpA
But Antoine Griezmann finally broke the deadlock with less than 10 minutes to go with a well-guided header into the bottom left-hand corner following a beautifully looped cross from teammate Koke -who took advantage of a poorly cleared corner to secure a 1-0 victory.
The stop-start 90 minutes was overshadowed slightly by poor refereeing decisions.In particular, ontwooccasionstheofficialswronglyruled theAtleti attackersoffside whilst bearing down on goal - leavingSimeone afrustratedfigure on the sidelines.
"It was a very difficult match",the 46-year-old told the officialclub website.
PHOTO GALLERY 
Don't miss the photos of the #AtletiGranada!
➡� https://t.co/0VEo4x3dPd #GoAtleti pic.twitter.com/gt8SiFJIV9
"The first half was complicated and we had two chances that the assistant referee read as offside but were not and we could have been more comfortable in the game."
After the break both sides showed more promise than the previous half, but thanks to smart saves fromGuillermo Ochoa andJan Oblak at either end, the tie was kept at a stalemate until the 84th minute.
66' | 0-0 | #GranadaAtleti
Chance for @atletienglish with Koke... Good reactions by @yosoy8a with the save! pic.twitter.com/XX5phGDb4n
"The second half was an exchange of blows in which either Granada or ourselves could have won, because we both had chances", the Atleti boss added.
"We take with us an important and hard-fought outcome."
The well-earnedthree points extends Madrid's gap over RealSociedadto fourpoints in the final La Liga Champions League place, whereas the result leaves Granada still five points adrift from safety at the bottom of the table.
.@atletienglish make the most of Sevilla's draw to move to within 5 points of third, while @alaves are up to 10th in #LaLigaSantander. pic.twitter.com/xqAKBsQYoo