Torres, who struggled for form and failed to score at the World Cup where he was recovering from knee surgery, opened the visitors' account with a delicate chip in the 18th minute.
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Villa, who hit the crossbar in stoppage time, took his international tally to 43 goals, one short of Raul's record, amid some confusion.
The Spanish federation's website listed his total before the match as 43 but a spokesman and Spanish media said it was one fewer.
The tiny Rheinpark stadium with its capacity of just over 6,000, enough to accommodate roughly one sixth of Liechtenstein's population, was a world away from Soccer City in Johannesburg, where Spain won the World Cup just under two months ago.
There was a minor scare when Sandro Wieser floated a long free-kick over Iker Casillas' crossbar but, with Liechtenstein ranked 141st in the world and without a win in nearly three years, the gulf was far too great for any real hopes of an upset.
Spain's intricate passing moves often resembled futsal as they weaved their way through the home defence, with Jehle coming to the rescue several times.
