Atletico coach looks to build on much-needed win

Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino has called for more of the same from his side after seeing them produce a superb comeback to beat high-flying rivals Villarreal at the Vicente Calderon.

Atletico's hopes of getting back into the Champions League again next season looked to be fading fast after they fell 2-0 behind against fourth-placed Villarreal having missed a second-minute penalty through Diego Forlan.

A defeat would have left them eight points behind the Yellow Submarine in the chase for the final Champions League spot with only 11 games remaining, but Resino's men resurrected their European dream as goals from Sergio Aguero, Forlan and Antonio Lopez earned them a 3-2 win.

That triumph continued Atletico's fine recent run of league form that, since losing to Sevilla, has seen them beat leaders Barcelona and draw with Real Madrid last weekend in a game they should have won.

Now, Resino is urging his team not to let those standards slip when they come up against less illustrious opposition.

"I'm happy with how we've done in these four games because we deserved to beat Madrid and it was unfair that we lost against Sevilla," he said. "From now on we have to maintain this line against other teams."

Atletico went into the Villarreal game having been knocked out of the Champions League by Porto in midweek after failing to score in the second leg.

And it looked set to be another frustrating night in front of goal as visiting goalkeeper Diego Lopez performed heroics.

Aside from saving Forlan's early penalty, the former Real Madrid custodian produced a series of stunning stops to keep Atletico at bay until Aguero finally made the breakthrough just after half-time.

Despite the missed opportunities though, Resino was full of praise for his side, saying: "Atletico played a great game. It's impossible to have had more chances on goal and Diego Lopez was fantastic.

"At half-time we knew we had to turn the scoreline around in anyway we could. We were able to play at a high pace throughout the game and we picked up a very important win."