Kevin Gameiro's goal gave Atleti a 1-0 win on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said that Sunday afternoon's hard fought 1-0 La Liga win at Celta Vigo was "important" for this side, and had been "a long time coming."
Midway through the first half at Balaidos, Kevin Gameiro pounced on a loose ball to put Atletico ahead against the run of play. Celta remained well on top in possession throughout, but the closest they came to an equaliser was when Iago Aspas struck the crossbar with a free kick near the hour mark.
Atletico had travelled to Galicia without a win in in almost a month, and after seeing their Champions League hopes endangered by a 0-0 draw at Azerbaijani side Qarabag last Wednesday. Asked at the postgame news conference if the if this could be a turning point for his side, the rojiblanco boss said he was happy to get the winning feeling again.
"I hope so," Simeone said. "It is an important win, it was needed. Between the international break, the games against Leganes, Barcelona and Qarabag, it was a long wait for a win. But that is why we worked like this today, the team showed once again that it can suffer, that they do not mind sitting back to defend a result.
"We also had chances ourselves -- like when [Celta goalkeeper] Sergio saved from [Antoine] Griezmann, the header too. Celta are strong at home, had scored in all their other games."
Gameiro's first goal of 2017-18 came on a second successive start, and Simeone suggested issues which had left the France international out of the reckoning in recent months were behind them now.
"Gameiro's goal makes us happy as it is the second game [this week] he has played and he found the net," he said. "He is getting better all the time, and that excited [me]. This was an important game."
Next up is Wednesday's trip to third-tier Elche for a Copa del Rey last-32 first leg, before facing Villarreal at the Wanda Metropolitano next Saturday. The Argentine suggested he would be resting some players midweek.
"We have another difficult week," Simeone said. "We must play the Copa on Wednesday. We will look for some alternatives to compete in all the competitions. Atletico needed to win today."
Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk