Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone hailed a "decisive" penalty save by goalkeeper Jan Oblak after Sunday's 3-0 win at Osasuna.
Atleti came into the game needing a win but were in trouble when Jose Maria Gimenez conceded an early penalty -- only for Oblak to dive to his left to deny Roberto Torres.
The visitors then took control with two goals in less than 90 seconds from Diego Godin and Kevin Gameiro before half-time, with Yannick Carrasco running clear late on to add the third.
Simeone told his postmatch news conference that Oblak had an excellent record and had made crucial saves in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven this season.
"Osasuna began very strong, and then came the decisive penalty save from Oblak," he said. "That is three big saves from him in just a few months. I am very happy for him personally."
It was Atletico's first away win since Oct. 2 and followed recent defeats on the road at Sevilla and Real Sociedad.
Simeone said: "It was not about recovering anything, as we had not lost anything.
"Football can change a lot during a season. It is not that things are lost, it just about different moments of the season."
But he added that it had been an important result for his side, who climbed above Villarreal into fourth place ahead of Real Sociedad's home game with Barcelona later on Sunday.
"For sure it was an important game for us, above all for the way we played," he said. "Osasuna started well but we were more comfortable after Godin's goal.
"In the second half we were well organised and worked hard collectively. I never felt comfortable in the game, as Osasuna kept pushing even at 2-0 down."
Godin's header was Atletico's first set-piece goal of the season, and the Uruguayan defender told BeIN Sports: "The truth is I am happy with the goal, but more with the win.
"We needed this win in La Liga. It is always difficult here and we put in a lot of hard work to get the victory.
"It's normal to be nervous when you lose -- we are a team used to winning.
"We are not in the position in table we wanted, but we know the path we should take."