Griezmann was set up by Alvaro Morata in the 47th minute and the Spain striker passed back for his unmarked teammate to slot in the winner in Saturday's match.

Atletico's defence did the rest by shutting down Bilbao and their Williams brothers, with both Inaki and Nico unable to create threats with no chance to attack on the break.

Diego Simeone's side are three points behind Barcelona and Real Madrid before the front-runners clash in Spain's capital on Sunday.

Atletico bought Griezmann's rights on Monday to end a loan deal from Barcelona that provoked a contract dispute between the clubs.

While Barcelona were seeking 40 million euros ($A62.7 million) if Griezmann played over a certain amount of minutes, Atletico resisted giving Griezmann extra minutes. Barcelona eventually agreed on 20 million euros to make Griezmann's move permanent.

In Atletico's starting XI, Griezmann played the full 90 minutes for just the third time this season.

The game at San Mames Stadium was vintage Simeone: One flash of brilliance in attack by Morata and Griezmann combined with a rock-hard defence that never got nervous absorbing pressure from the host.

When Bilbao did produce some late shots, goalkeeper Ivo Grbic was stoic after replacing Jan Oblak, who was dazed following a knock. Left back Reinildo also bailed out Atletico by blocking two late strikes.

The loss was just the second for Bilbao, who slipped to fourth place, since Ernesto Valverde returned for his third stint in charge.

A long-range strike by Nemanja Gudelj proved enough for Sevilla to beat Mallorca 1-0 on the road and get their first victory in three games since Jorge Sampaoli returned as their coach.

Gudelj struggled at the start of the season as a central defender under Julen Lopetegui, who was replaced by Sampaoli last week. Sampaoli moved Gudelj into midfield and the Serbia international responded with an eye-popping goal from deep in the second half.

Sevilla's second win in nine rounds got them out of the relegation zone.

Sampaoli, however, said he still had work to do after his scheme to play without a striker failed to create many scoring opportunities.

Edinson Cavani scored his first goals since joining Valencia this summer with his aim set on playing for Uruguay at the World Cup.

The 35-year-old striker was making his fourth appearance for Valencia. He got his first goal from a penalty and added a second goal with a nice header. Still, it wasn't enough to get the win as Elche midfielder Pere Milla also struck twice for a 2-2 draw.

Also, Cristhian Stuani converted a penalty at the end of stoppage time to snatch Girona a 1-1 draw with visiting Cadiz.

Australian Associated Press