Torres shines, Atletico is only three points behind Barca

Striker Fernando Torres became the hero when he scored one goal and assisted the other two in the 3-1 win at Espanyol on the evening of April 9.

Atletico are returning to being a strong candidate for the La Liga championship. Photo: Reuters

Goals: Pape Diop 29' - Torres 35', Griezmann 58', Koke 89'

Four days after being sent off for his mistake in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barca, Torres made amends with a brilliant performance. First, the striker chested down and volleyed home to level the score at 1-1 in the 35th minute. In the second half, Torres assisted Antoine Griezmann's goal before directly crossing for Koke to seal a 3-1 win at Espanyol.

As the home team, Espanyol disappointed fans when they only got the opening goal. This goal came from a header by Pape Diop.

The victory in round 32 of La Liga has somewhat consoled Atletico after the defeat in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Coach Diego Simeone's team is only three points behind the leading team Barca, and at the same time revived the hope of winning the championship in the last six rounds.

Atletico was able to close the gap with Barca thanks to Sociedad, who just defeated the defending champions 1-0. Real Madrid also narrowed the gap with Barca to four points thanks to that.

The victory at Espanyol's home ground also gave Atletico more confidence ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next week. Having only lost 1-2 to Barca in the first leg, Simeone's team only need to win at least 1-0 at home at the Vicente Calderon to qualify for the semi-finals.

According to VNE