Diego Simeone praised his Atletico Madrid players despite dropping points in the LaLiga title race following their 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Saturday. 

Visiting forward Gerard Moreno scored a penalty to open the scoring for Villarreal before substitute Samuel Lino levelled the contest just before the hour. 

Atletico dominated for much of the contest, registering 20 shots to their opponents' 11, while they also enjoyed 58.9% possession at the Metropolitano. 

The hosts ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) 1.55 from their attempts, compared to Villarreal's 2.23, with Moreno's spot-kick their only effort on target. 

Despite the setback, Atletico have now taken 16 points from losing positions in LaLiga 2024-25, the most of any team in Europe's top five leagues this season.

Simeone's side are now second in the standings, though the Atletico boss was pleased with his team's display despite failing to take their chances during the encounter. 

"I think we were pretty much in control throughout the game. We played with the right attitude and commitment, aiming to win the game," Simeone told Movistar Plus.

"The first half went quite well. They had the penalty and little more.

"In the second half we played against a team that defended well, with a lot of players and in an organised manner, waiting to counter-attack because they have a lot of fast players, and they take advantage of that speed.

"We found an equaliser, and we continued to play the way we wanted to, going forward. We had more than one situation where we could have won the game. But it wasn't to be..."

Simeone's attention now turns to the Champions League, with their final game of the league phase coming against Red Bull Salzburg next Wednesday, with the hopes of cementing their place in the automatic qualifying places for the knockout stages.