Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Atletico Madrid kept the pressure on at the top of La Liga by beating Valencia at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday night.
Goals from Jackson Martinez and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco put Diego Simeone's side in the lead, but Valencia made them sweat when Paco Alcacer netted a penalty with 18 minutes to go.
The score didn't change after that, with Atletico ending up 2-1 winners against their Champions League level rivals.
Victory takes Atletico up to third in the table, on 19 points after nine games, just two behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are first and second respectively with 21.
Here are the winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Yannick Ferreira Carrasco
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This is the Diego Simeone method.
When the coach signs new players, he rarely puts them in the first team and tells them to go.
Instead, he carefully uses them when he sees fit, leaving them out of the side and even the squad at times.
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco was bought in the summer from Monaco for €15 million, per Reuters, but has only started three games, including this win over Valencia.
Simeone picked him to play in two easy fixtures, at home against Getafe and then at home against Astana in the Champions League.
In the first, he struggled to create much for his team-mates and still looked shaky, but against Astana, he was hugely impressive.
Between the two, he had a good 45 minutes as a substitute against Real Madrid and another appearance from the bench away at Real Sociedad.
It earned him another chance, which he grasped with both hands against Astana, which in turn saw Simeone pick him to play in this game.
And Carrasco was excellent, putting in an all-round impressive display, capped with a brilliant goal.
The 22-year-old charged forward and then powered home a low drive from some distance to extend Atletico's lead.
There will be big things to come from the 22-year-old Belgian.
Loser: Rodrigo
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Rodrigo had been hoping for a chance to start for Valencia and this was it.
With Alvaro Negredo left out of the squad for the third game running, Nuno Espirito Santo decided it was time for the 24-year-old Spaniard to start, in place of usual hitman, Paco Alcacer.
Rodrigo had only started three matches previously this season, against Deportivo, Real Betis and Espanyol, the last of which was over a month ago.
He has had plenty of substitute appearances and finally got a go up front, with Nuno preferring to just use one of him or Alcacer, rather than both at once.
But after just 23 minutes of the game, he had to be substituted after noticing pain when he controlled the ball. He was treated by the medics on the pitch and had to go off.
To make things worse for his personal chances, his replacement was Alcacer, who went on to score Valencia's only goal of the game.
Rodrigo will be hoping the injury isn't too serious.
Winner: Diego Simeone
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We've already spoken about how Diego Simeone uses new players, like in the case of Yannick Ferreira Carrasco.
The coach knows what he's doing, and he's beginning to put more faith in Jackson Martinez too, who is repaying him.
Atletico's Colombian striker has now started the last three games and after an eight-game drought, and he has two goals in his last two matches.
He netted against Astana and struck the opener against Valencia in this match.
Simeone spoke about both him and Carrasco after the game, saying his new players are growing.
Per Sport, he said:
"I have no doubt that the work will finish by bearing fruits. Carrasco keeps growing through the work he is doing, adapting his characteristics to what the team needs.
The play for his goal is his specialty, he's got a great shot. For us it's important to have goals from this area of the pitch. We want to continue with the hope that he brings.
Jackson keeps growing, he had a lot of the play on his back, assisting his team-mates. He's scored two games in a row now.
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Although the Argentine hailed his men, he deserves the credit for helping them to come good at the right time.
Loser: Nuno Espirito Santo
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When one coach wins, obviously the other must lose, but this will be a painful defeat for Nuno Espirito Santo to take.
Valencia's coach is under pressure at the Mestalla, with his side supported by one of the most demanding fan bases around.
The club's form has been up and down and getting a good result away at Atletico would have been a good way to placate their followers.
Unfortunately his team offered little until the final 20 minutes.
Atletico deserved to win, even if Valencia's fight in the final stages of the game could have earned them a point.
Nuno needs to sort out his defence, who were all at sea for the first goal.
Shkodran Mustafi, primarily, and then Aderlan Santos were guilty of errors which led to Jackson Martinez getting in on goal to slot home in the first half.
They are at fault, but it's Nuno's job to make sure sloppy problems like this don't happen.
Winners: Atletico's Engine Room
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Gabi and Tiago are 32 and 34 respectively, but they are still holding Atletico Madrid together in the middle.
Younger players like Koke and Saul are both good options for Diego Simeone, but he still has faith in his old boys when the big games come around.
Tiago and Gabi were part of the midfield that the title success in 2013-14 was built on and both were excellent against Valencia.
This was one of the most impressive performances of the season from Atletico and, in particular, their midfield unit.
Tiago was clean and careful with the ball, playing short passes when required but also longer ones when it suited the team.
Gabi, meanwhile, was cutting out Valencia attacks and keeping his team on the ball.
The work-rate of Koke was also helpful, but it's time to salute the veteran duo who are still going strong.
