Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone Praises Fernando Torres After Brace in 5-1 Europa League Win

Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone praised Fernando Torres' attitude after his second half brace helped Los Colchoneros progress through to the Europa League's quarter finals with a 5-1 thumping of Lokomotiv Moscow, but also admitted he is worried about injuries sustained by full backs duo Juanfran and Filipe Luis.

Atletico headed to the RZD Arena in Moscow with a healthy advantage having won the first leg 3-0. Nevertheless, Simeone's side didn't sit back and took an early lead thanks to a smart finish from Angel Correa.

Lokomotiv equalised just 10 minutes later when Maciej Rybus' shot from distance thundered past Axel Werner, but the hosts were then dismantled in emphatic fashion in the second half.  

The visitors regained their lead just two minutes after the break when Saul swept home Luis' cross. Torres then got his first goal of the night from the penalty spot, after Griezmann had been brought down in the box. 

His second came just five minutes later, when he collected Correa's through ball and finished coolly past Kochenkov. Griezmann then rounded off the scoring in the 85th minute with a sublime chip from the edge of the box. 

It was a perfect performance and result for Simeone's side, but the injuries to Luis and Juanfran left him concerned. 

"I have not talked to the doctor," the Argentine said in his post-match conference, as quoted by Marca. "Hopefully it is as small as possible, for both Filipe and Juanfran.

"We will possibly lose them for Sunday [against Villarreal]. I have the hope of recovering them when La Liga returns, but I am worried about that."

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Regarding Torres, he continued: "Stats are the same as his colleagues. [He is] committed, involved, always wanting the good of the group.

"He played very well, he safely converted the penalty and did well for the second goal. His attitude is what has always marked him out. That, he will never lose.

"I admire my players," Simeone added. "In every match, they always play the same way. We have a lot of players who have grown a lot like Saúl, Koke, Thomas. We believe in our future."