La Liga champions Atletico Madrid snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to win 3-2 at home to Valencia, scoring two of their goals in stoppage time.

Atletico are fourth in the table with 36 points, 13 behind leaders and city rivals Real Madrid.

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Valencia took advantage of Atletico’s defensive slack to score a first-half brace, the first goal scored by American winger Yunus Musah in the 25th minute and the second on the half-time strike by the striker Hugo Duro, on loan from Getafe.

However, Diego Simeone’s side came back from the break much more determined and halved the deficit shortly after the hour mark when substitute Matheus Cunha rebounded from a corner.

Argentina striker Angel Correa equalized in the first minute of stoppage time before Mario Hermoso hit a low Cunha cross two minutes later to drive home fans wild and seal an exhilarating win.

“Sometimes football is about the will to overcome adversity. It will be a day to remember,” Simeone told reporters.

“We have to learn from our mistakes and that first half was one to learn from, but we came back as a team after the break and it was amazing to watch.”

Under fire manager Simeone, who is under intense pressure to turn his club around after a series of poor results, entered the arena upon hearing his name chanted by fans who had turned up at a freezing night at the Metropolitano stadium.

Saturday’s overall win will help silence the critics and fans will hope it’s a sign of better things to come.

The side generally known for their rock-solid defense have scored 26 goals in 21 games, which is already more than the 25 they conceded in 38 games during their triumphant run to the LaLiga title last season.

Becoming an unruly and error-prone unit, they have conceded the most goals in the top eight in La Liga and have also won just three of their last nine games in all competitions.