Things got nervy at the end, but Atletico Madrid held off Benfica to top Champions League Group C.

Goals from Saul Niguez and Luciano Vietto helped them get the result they wanted, despite Konstantinos Mitroglou's reply for the hosts.

Here are the winners and losers from the game as both sides look forward to the Round of 16...

Winner: Luciano Vietto

It has been coming.

Luciano Vietto finally got his head in the game in October, after suffering through a brutal pre-season and struggling to convince Diego Simeone he deserved to start.

But his goal saved Atletico in the Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon and it seemed things were looking up for him.

Then came an untimely injury and he did not feature for the rest of that month.

However, at the end of November he made his return, coming on as a substitute against Real Betis, then doing the same thing against Galatasaray.

He started against Espanyol, as well as Reus in the Copa del Rey, scoring a header.

Vietto was picked again to face Benfica and rewarded Simeone with a goal and assist.

He made the first goal for Saul Niguez, with great awareness of his team-mate's run to just flick it back into his path.

Then Atletico's second was perfectly taken, nipping in at the near post to nudge the ball home.

He will be hoping to continue in the side against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, and if form is the only factor, then that will be the case.

Losers: Fernando Torres and Jackson Martinez

Luciano Vietto's rise didn't just start with him. He also needed a little help from Fernando Torres and Jackson Martinez.

Each passing game makes these two forwards look less and less useful.

Jackson has now not played for Atletico for over a month, having been injured on international duty.

The Colombian is 29 years old and cost €35 million. Atletico were paying for him at his peak, acknowledging that from next season he is more likely to start declining than continue improving.

Taking the games he has played, only in a couple of them has he shown the promise of a striker worth his price tag. Writing him off would be wrong, but he has a lot to do at the Spanish capital. 

Meanwhile, on and on and on goes Torres' goal drought.

After some more poor finishing against Granada at the weekend, he started this game on the bench.

Vietto took the chance given to him and Torres didn't do too much after coming on as a substitute.

Winner: Diego Simeone

This time, he did it. Back at the Estadio da Luz for the first time since the 2014 Champions League final, Diego Simeone's side survived stoppage time to win the game.

Of course, being beaten by Real Madrid at this stadium in European football's showpiece event can't compare to a group stage victory, but this would still have felt redeeming for the boss.

Furthermore, his team have been rewarded for their good form of late with a finish that should, in theory, give them an easier draw in the next round.

A point from this game wouldn't have been enough for Atletico, given Benfica beat them at the Calderon, but a win was just what the doctor ordered.

Atletico are growing into their own skin and it's easy to believe there's more to come. This could be another famous year for Simeone and his boys, but there's a long way to go.

Losers: Benfica

Benfica let this slip, having started the group brilliantly.

A 2-0 win over FC Astana was followed up by an impressive and deserved victory over Atletico at the Vicente Calderon.

Nicolas Gaitan's brilliance helped them overturn Atletico after Angel Correa fired them in front.

But the last four group games saw two defeats, a draw away at Astana and a win over Galatasaray at home that also saw Gaitan sent off.

Failing to beat Astana away in the fifth game of the group gave Atletico a chance, after they saw off Galatasaray.

It came down to this shootout, with Benfica boasting two advantages. Firstly, they were at home. Secondly, a draw would put them through head-to-head, despite an inferior goal difference.

But they played badly and their fans whistled them, as Atletico dominated proceedings.

It was too little too late when they scored, with just 15 minutes to go.

Now they must face one of the group winners with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich among the possible options. Ouch.

Winner: Stefan Savic

This was not a wonderful night for Stefan Savic per se—just a decent one—but he got back into the good grace of Diego Simeone with a solid performance after a shaky showing against Reus.

The Montenegro defender, like many at the Vicente Calderon, must prove to Simeone that he is worth playing week in, week out, rather than rotating.

He was a rock against Benfica, making a good last ditch tackle and dealing with Nicolas Gaitan, which Atletico didn't do well enough in the home clash with the Portuguese side.

He didn't allow the opposition much breathing room when they had the ball, either.

Savic couldn't add to his list of of clean sheets, having achieved shutouts in his previous four Atletico games, sans the Reus Copa del Rey clash, but this was a good performance.