Simeone Praises Torres for Developing Atletico's Young Talent

Diego Simeone acknowledged the contributions of Atletico Madrid B team coach Fernando Torres in nurturing the young players who have broken into the first team.

Atletico secured a 2-0 victory over Valencia on Saturday, with goals from 20-year-old Iker Luque and 18-year-old Miguel Cubo at Estadio de Mestalla. The win marked Atletico's fifth consecutive LaLiga triumph over Valencia, a historic first in their head-to-head record.

Under Simeone, Atletico have now scored 51 goals against Valencia, trailing only their tallies against Sevilla (55) and Real Sociedad (52) during his tenure. The manager made 10 changes from their previous league match—the most between two LaLiga games this season—ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal on Tuesday.

Despite the rotation, Atletico dominated, generating 2.04 expected goals (xG) from 20 shots, while Valencia managed just 1.09 xG from 12 attempts, none of which were on target. This marked the second time this season Atletico prevented an away opponent from registering a first-half shot on target in LaLiga, following a similar feat against Levante in January.

Simeone praised both the younger players and the experienced squad members but specifically highlighted Torres' influence. "There was Cubo’s quality—I made it clear to him what we need to get the best out of a player like him—and Iker is exactly what we saw," Simeone said. "These lads are Fernando Torres’s doing, not ours. It’s a reward for Atletico Madrid."

He added, "It doesn’t surprise me. When you’re at Atletico, you have to have these qualities. And if they don’t show up, you have to demand them. Against Sevilla, we didn’t deserve to lose; against Elche, we started well but were let down by the sending-off. The youngsters responded very well, and so did the experienced players. We need these sorts of players."