Fernando Torres scored twice on an emotional final outing for Atletico Madrid yesterday but was denied a victorious farewell as Eibar snatched a 2-2 draw. Torres struck in each half much to the delight of his adoring fans at the Wanda Metropolitano but a Lucas Hernandez red card helped Eibar claim a point on the last day of the La Liga season.
Atletico finish the campaign second in the table, Eibar sit 10th. Enrique Garcia had given the visitors a surprise early lead and Ruben Pena capitalised on the numerical advantage by equalising late on, but this match was always going to be about Torres.
On his 404th appearance for Atletico, his goals were his 128th and 129th for the club, coming 17 years after his first, scored against Albacete in the Segunda Division in June 2001. Torres has yet to declare his next move but this display — speedy, sharp and clinical — will have caught the eye of many interested parties.
In truth, the 34-year-old’s fairytale ending had already arrived on Wednesday, when he lifted his first Atleti trophy after the triumphant Europa League final against Marseille. But this double added some extra sparkle in front of his own supporters, who stayed on after the final whistle to watch the team form a guard of honour as the striker left the pitch.
He had walked out the same way, with his three children, through a corridor formed by the Eibar players as Atletico’s fans displayed the words, ‘De Nino A Leyenda’, meaning ‘from a kid to a legend’.
Outside the ground, fans had posed for photos next to Torres life-size cut-outs and peered at message boards, detailing the player’s greatest moments. This, after all, was a boyhood Atletico fan, who first watched his team with his grandfather as a child, and who, when he returned to the club for a second spell in 2015, drew a crowd of more than 40,000 just for his presentation.
On Saturday night, Real Madrid’s final Champions League rehearsal was running perfectly until Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted and Villarreal scored twice to snatch a 2-2 draw. Gareth Bale and Ronaldo put Real in cruise control at the Estadio de la Ceramica but the Portugese, along with Luka Modric, was taken off shortly after the hour and Villarreal came surging back.
It was two substitutes that did it, Roger Martinez unleashing a stunning strike into the top corner before Samu Castillejo struck the equaliser five minutes from time. Castillejo took advantage of some hesitation from Luca Zidane, Zinedine Zidane’s 20-year-old son, who was making his debut for Real in goal. Villarreal jumped above Real Betis into fifth.
Ronaldo was withdrawn after 61 minutes, the 33-year-old showing no sign of discomfort in what was his first outing since spraining his ankle against Barcelona a fortnight ago.
La Liga Results
Valencia 2 (Zaza 28, Guedes 77) Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Perez 80); Athletic Bilbao 0 Espanyol 1 (Lopez 9); Atletico Madrid 2 v Eibar 2
Played Saturday: Celta Vigo 4 (M. Gomez 29, 63, Aspas 41, 48) Levante 2 (Rochina 12, Morales 74); Leganes 3 (Siovas 28, Naranjo 64, Amrabat 79) Real Betis 2 (Campbell 20, Sanabria 76); Las Palmas 1 (Calleri 14-pen) Girona 2 (Stuani 5, 42); Malaga 0 Getafe 1 (Remy 73-pen); Sevilla 1 (Ben Yedder 28) Alaves 0; Villarreal 2 (Martínez 71, Castillejo Azuaga 85) Real Madrid 2 (Bale 11, Ronaldo 32)
Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres poses with a framed jersey signed by teammates during a tribute at the end of La Liga match against Eibar in Madrid. (AFP)
