Fernando Torres Must End Drought and Hit Atletico Madrid Milestone Against Betis

Fernando Torres knows a thing or two about goal droughts. And by the standard of some of the barren stretches he endured at Chelsea, his current run is nothing to worry about.

Where once seeing Torres on the field meant expecting the net to bulge, the opposition defence left backing off, uncertain, terrified even, now it is a surprise when he does score.

If he plays well, sarcastic exclamations that “Torres is back” are heard. He is not back, and the reality of the situation is, at 31 years old, he never will be.

That doesn’t stop him being loved at the Vicente Calderon, with Atletico fans valuing his history with the club and his legend over the player they see before them today.

He hasn’t been a complete failure since his return in January last season, on loan from AC Milan.

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Having left the club in 2007 to shine at Liverpool, flop at Chelsea and flounder, briefly, in Milan, he was welcomed back with open arms by Rojiblanco fans.

Here was the man who captained their side when he was a tender 19 years of age, and soon after returning to the Spanish capital, he did something every Atletico supporter dreams of doing.

He scored twice against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, helping knock Atletico’s archrivals out of the tournament—moments of ecstasy for the fans and Torres himself.

The striker only hit six goals in 26 games in the second half of last season, but he was often used as a substitute, and his work rate was high, giving Diego Simeone a plausible option to use in place of Antoine Griezmann or Mario Mandzukic.

However, this season, he has not kicked on. Torres is struggling again. He has more responsibility in the side, alternating with Jackson Martinez as a partner for French sensation Griezmann, but he has been unable to come up with the goods.

The last time he found the net was against Eibar on September 19. That was his 99th goal in an Atletico Madrid shirt. We are still waiting for the 100th.

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He has mostly been selected as a substitute since, but not because Jackson’s form has been particularly impressive.

Simeone is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has two centre-forwards who seemingly can’t find the net.

Torres played an hour against Getafe without looking like scoring, 45 minutes against Villarreal and 64 against Real Madrid. He was also given 64 minutes against FC Astana in the Champions League on Nov. 3, a painful goalless draw in Kazakhstan.

On top of that, cameos against Benfica, Real Sociedad, in the home against Astana, Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna have been fruitless affairs for him.

But the latest international break has given Torres a chance. He is fit and ready to play, and his rival for the berth beside Griezmann is injured.

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Jackson sprained his ankle playing for Colombia in a World Cup qualifier against Chile and had to be substituted.

That means, provided Simeone doesn’t use the fit-again Luciano Vietto or Angel Correa in a centre-forward role, Torres will start in Atletico’s trip to Seville on Sunday night.

The Benito Villamarin is a classic Primera Division venue, and it would be a fitting place for Torres to finally hit that milestone of 100 goals in an Atletico shirt.

Even though his return to Atletico has not been overly successful, Torres has come up with some crucial goals, and with one or both of Real Madrid and Barcelona set to drop points on Saturday when they meet in El Clasico, his team needs him again.