Simeone: Torres deserves start

Fernando Torres will start for Atletico Madrid against Getafe on Sunday, and Diego Simeone is backing the 100-goal striker to produce the goods.

Torres ended a four-month barren spell in front of goal with a late strike in Atleti’s 3-1 victory over Eibar last weekend, which also marked his 100th in Rojiblancos colours, and Simeone is banking on the No 9 to prolong his high at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

“Torres is fine and did well in training this week. Hopefully he’ll have a good match [on Sunday],” the Coach said at a Press conference.

“I think his performance [against Eibar] spoke for itself. He had a very good 15-minute spell, with pressure and intensity.

“Then, he scored his goal and had chances to score more.

“One of the biggest positives that we took from last weekend was the team’s response.

“They showed responsibility. The first half wasn’t good, but the second half was the opposite.

“Our goal seemed to give us an incentive to continue growing.

“The substitutions improved the team further, with the entry of Oliver [Torres] and especially Fernando, and we ended up having a very good match.

“It’s true Fernando is a reference point, but Luciano [Vietto] can also do well and [Angel] Correa is growing, and that, with [Antoine] Griezmann, means we have four interesting strikers, all of whom are different and can adapt to different situations.

“[On the game against Getafe], we want our talent to shine, but not if it jeopardises our humility and strength. They’re our trademarks.

“[Geta] have clever players, attack with speed and pose problems from set pieces.

“We have to try to take the game to where we want it to be and create the chances we can foresee.”

Tags Diego Simeone Fernando Torres
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