Simeone: I liked the chance to rebuild the Atletico team LaLiga - Alaves 0-1 Atletico Coach spoke after tight win

It was a hard-fought victory for Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid in Vitoria as his team saw off Alaves by just a single goal, the coach enjoying the flexibility of his side throughout the game.

Fernando Torres missed a penalty but Kevin Gameiro didn't make the same mistake from 12 yards and sealed a win.

"They started better and caused us problems up until more or less the 15th minute, when we changed to five at the back," he said.

"Then the team felt more comfortable and we played well, I liked the ability to rebuild the team."

The coach praised his players for their versatility, quickly adapting to a new formation without the need for any changes from the bench.

"We have players who can play in different positions, which gives us the chance to use different options," Simeone explained.

"Today we went back to using the system with three central defenders because we needed it. [Sime] Vrsaljko played phenomenally, even better than as a full-back, I've told him so."

Los Colchoneros also had a slice of luck given that they were awarded two penalties after defensive errors from Alaves, but Simeone didn't see either incident clearly enough to comment.

"From where I am it's hard to see and I didn't see either penalty clearly," he confessed.

"It's not a surprise, we knew that Alaves know how to adapt to their opposition.

"They started very strongly with four quick players in attack, they counter attacked with speed, especially out wide."

Atletico now have a four point lead over Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, in second place.