Atletico hero Torres refuses to give up title hopes

Fernando Torres insists Atletico Madrid will not give up their title hopes after their 3-1 victory away to Valencia on Sunday.

Denis Cheryshev looked to have earned a point for Gary Neville's side after Antoine Griezmann's opener, but substitutes Torres and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco struck in the closing stages to seal the win.

Diego Simeone's side are back to within eight points of leaders Barcelona, who won 4-0 at Eibar, and Torres refused to abandon hope of hauling in the champions over the final 10 games.

"The first half was maybe more of a contest, they had their chances and so did we," he told Movistar. "But in the second half we got better, we found the spaces and we were able to get a very important victory on a pitch which is always difficult.

"We always maintain our intensity - it's one of the keys to this team. Barcelona are far away and we don't want to look at them, but anything can happen in football."

Torres' future at the Vicente Calderon beyond this season remains in doubt but he denied there has been any change in his situation, despite having scored three goals in his last five Liga games.

"The end of the season gets closer with every passing day, and the situation is the same," he said.

For Valencia, the defeat means they have now won just one of their last nine league games at Mestalla, but defender Guilherme Siqueira says they can take plenty of positives from their display against his parent club.

"Until the second goal were were in it, we kept possession fairly well," said the 29-year-old.

"Their main weapon is the counter-attack and that was key today. We have to take the positives. We've fought toe-to-toe with a great team."

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1