‘Torres much better vs tired teams’

Diego Simeone praised Fernando Torres for his late contribution to Atletico Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Levante in La Liga on Sunday.

The striker came off the bench at Ciutat de Valencia to net an 80th-minute equaliser for Los Colchoneros, and the Coach claims his January recruit is best suited to punishing tiring teams as an impact substitute.

“We deserved to win the game, but playing in this heat, reversing their lead twice and pushing [Levante] all the way speaks highly of how competitive this team are,” he said after the game.

“The draw is a good result but we wanted more. Fernando [Torres] performs much better when the opposition are tired, and that’s how his goal came.

“Levante are very competitive and always play well against us. They had two shots on target and managed to score two goals, while we’ve defended very well yet rarely won on many occasions.

“[The fight for third place] is beautiful and very competitive. Sevilla are doing very well in the Europa League and Valencia, who don’t have the Copa [del Rey] or Champions [League to distract them], are competing very well too.

“A great battle [for third battle] awaits us [in the final two weeks of the season], and [the pressure] can affect you.

“We’ve had a very good season. The lads did well in the Copa and Champions League and are continuing to do so [in La Liga].

“[On the players’ strike], it’s not up to us. We can only focus on preparing for our next game.”

Tags Diego Simeone Fernando Torres
La Liga - Club News