Diego Simeone confessed his side had a 'tough' afternoon in their game against La Liga strugglers Rayo Vallecano after their unconvincing 1-0 win saw them temporarily move into second in the league.
Antoine Griezmann's controversial 74th minute winner handed Simeone's men a vital three points, in a match where his side were largely second best and had issues imposing themselves against a side sat in 18th in the division.
They secured the three points in controversial fashion, however, as despite clearly being offside, Alvaro Morata was able to control a Filipe Luis cross and feed Griezmann, who fired home via a deflection.