Villarreal (Spain), April 30 (IANS): Atletico Madrid came away with a 1-0 win here over Villarreal thanks to a goal by striker Fernando Torres, who capitalised on a costly error by defender Eric Bailly.
The evenly matched contest at El Madrigal Stadium on Wednesday got off to a thrilling start when Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell penetrated the area in the second minute and got off a left-footed shot that Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak managed to deflect, reports Efe.
Both sides then had ample chances to open the scoring over the remainder of the first half.
Atletico thought they deserved a penalty when French forward Antoine Griezmann went down after colliding with Slovenian defender Bojan Jokic, but no whistle was blown. The visitors then threatened again in the 21st minute when an Arda Turan header grazed the crossbar.
But Villarreal had the best opportunity of the first half when a well-placed header by Victor Ruiz off an Antonio Rukavina free-kick that would have found the back of the net if not for a stunning save by Oblak.
Little separated the two teams at the start of the second half either, although both squads were wary of the opposing side's counterattack and avoided going forward recklessly.
Midway through the second half, Atletico coach Diego Simeone chose to shake up his midfield and also inserted attacker Torres, a move that paid dividends when 'El Niño' finally accounted for the lone goal of the match (73rd minute).
On the play, Bailly let a pass get past him in midfield and lost a battle for the ball with Torres, who then brilliantly manoeuvred around goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo and two defenders, including Bailly, before slotting the ball at point-blank range.
Atletico then held on for the win despite two shots by Mario Gaspar and Jaume Costa that barely missed the mark in injury time.
With the win, Atletico Madrid solidified their grip on third place in La Liga with 75 points and remains on course for direct qualification to next season's Champions League.
Villarreal are currently sixth with 53 points with four games remaining in the season.