Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the impact of Fernando Torres (picture) in his side’s 3-1 victory at Valencia, calling the striker “unique”.

The 31-year-old restored Atletico’s lead barely 10 minutes after coming off the bench and also forced the foul which lead to Aderlan Santos being sent off for Valencia, before Yannick Carrasco sealed the win.

The Atletico favourite is expected to leave the club when his loan contract ends but Simeone paid tribute to him for his role against Valencia.

“Fernando responded as we needed him to, we know he is a unique player,” Simeone said.

“We think about him every day, and today he had a huge impact when he came on the pitch.

“We won the game deservedly, playing really good football.”

Torres admitted he did not expect to stay at the club this summer.

“The end of the season is getting closer with every day and the situation remains the same,” he said.

Atletico stay second in the Primera Liga after recording a third straight league win, but Simeone admitted catching Barcelona, who are eight points clear at the top, was not among his priorities.

“The real aim for us is to keep bettering ourselves,” he said.

“It’s what we try to do every year but it’s not easy to do when we have so many new players. The average age of our team in this game was 24 years old and it’s not easy when you have so many young lads.”

Played yesterday: Espanyol vs Rayo Vallecano 2-1.