Atletico boss Simeone hails 'unique' Torres after victory

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the impact of Fernando Torres in his side's 3-1 victory at Valencia, calling the striker "unique".

The 31-year-old restored Atletico's lead barely ten minutes after coming off the bench and also forced the foul which lead to Aderlan Santos being sent off for Valencia, before Yannick Carrasco sealed the win.

The former Liverpool and Chelsea forward is expected to leave the club when his loan contract ends in the summer but Simeone paid tribute to him for his role against Gary Neville's men.

Antoine Griezmann had given Atletico the lead in the 24th minute, but the hosts drew level four minutes later through Denis Cheryshev before the visitors dealt the killer blows in the final 20 minutes.

"Fernando responded as we needed him to, we know he is a unique player," Simeone told a press conference.

"We think about him every day, and today he had a huge impact when he came on the pitch. We won the game deservedly, playing really good football."

Torres admitted he did not expect to stay at the club beyond this season, telling Canal Plus: "The end of the season is getting closer with every day and the situation remains the same."

Atletico stay second in La Liga after recording a third straight league win, but Simeone admitted catching Barcelona - who are eight points clear at the top of the table - was not among his priorities.

"The real aim for us is to keep bettering ourselves," he said.

"It's what we try to do every year but it's not easy to do when we have so many new players. The average age of our team in this game was 24 years old and it's not easy when you have so many young lads. It's not easy to make them believe that the team must come ahead of everything else."