Interim replacement Joseba Aguado will have been encouraged by his team's display in the first half an hour as Granada, who are without a Liga win since September, made a promising start at the Vicente Calderon against reigning champions Atletico Madrid after a well earned draw at home to Real Sociedad last weekend. El-Arabi came close and headed just wide of the mark with Moya stranded, moments before Piti came close from a corner, the visitors undeniably starting the better of the two sides. However, as we all know in football, if you fail to take advantage of good spells, good teams punish you, and that's exactly what Atletico did in the 34th minute when Abdoul Sissoko brought down Diego Godin in the penalty area, the referee pointing to the spot. Mario Mandzukic, the man who missed the 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at The Bernebeu in the Copa del Rey midweek returned to the side alongside Fernando Torres who made his first BBVA start after his brace, stepped up to the plate, and tucked home the penalty for his 16th goal of the season in all competitions.
Atletico failed to install a two goal cushion, and there was always the threat that the visitors could equalize if the game was never secured. In-form subsitute Griezmann stung the palms of the Granada keeper before Koke fired just over. Simeone replaced goal scorer Mandzukic with Raul Garcia in the 84th minute, and just before the final whistle, the latter headed home Arda Turan's cross to ensure Atleti remained just six points behind leaders Real Madrid after their 0-3 win at Getafe earlier Sunday afternoon. As for Granada, they remain bottom of the table, and have failed to win in their last 15 games now, they really need to break the streak soon if they have any chance of survival.