Atletico struck the final three goals to edge this thriller, with Antoine Griezmann hitting the winner in injury-time.
Afterwards, Simeone was full of praise for his substitutes on the day.
Suffering:
"The important thing today is that the team played the game. We knew about their transitions, but we had chances from Griezmann, the penalty on Conor. But after his goal the team continued to look for the game and those who came on knew how to interpret what we needed.
"We have to keep improving, we keep working as a team and I'm happy that those who come in do so, it's not a coincidence because the team goes and goes. And they believe in what they do."
Everyone is plugged in:
"They know that we are working hard, almost everyone is playing, Lino's goal makes me happy because I was looking for it and today's goal was important, we need everyone and I am very happy with the reaction to the changes."
Betis defeat:
"We are in a situation where these kinds of situations can happen, we will have to go through different stages and we have to be strong."
Griezmann:
"There are different players and he is one of them. He wasn't having a good first half, but with little he had already done a lot, the shot that hit the crossbar or the pass to Conor. In the second half, as an inside forward, he had already created something. He is a boy who has always given absolutely everything to Atlético."
Evolution after 12 years:
"We always work to give our best. That's why we won two leagues. But it has always been a competitive team. The demands are growing but we have put them there and we have to be prepared."
Fighting for the Liga:
"We continue on the same line from game to game and we are not going to change. I hear criticism of Madrid and it is there, Barcelona has a coach with a great mentality. Those monsters are always looked at, but I did not dislike watching Villarreal and Bilbao because moving away from that fifth place is always the club's first objective."