Koke scored the only goal of the first half to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 lead over Valencia in the battle between third and fourth in La Liga.
Valencia created the first opening of the game when a cross into the box found Alvaro Negredo in space, but the striker was unable to make the right contact with an overhead kick.
Atletico improved as the first half progressed, and they were rewarded with the lead just after the half-hour mark when Fernando Torres and Tiago combined on the edge of the box to set up Koke, who fired past a helpless Diego Alves.
The visitors struggled to produce a response to the setback, with Alves forced into some good goalkeeping to claim a cross under pressure from Torres following clever play on the wing from Arda Turan.
Callum Mulvihill
