Fernando Torres' Mixed Night vs. Bayern Can't Hide Importance to Atletico Madrid

Ultimately, it was a night for Atletico Madrid and those who support them to glory in the familiar.

For the second time in five months, Diego Simeone’s side chiseled out a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, once again showcasing that when the most powerful forces in European football are mentioned, they deserve more than a footnote.

Just like in last season’s semi-final first leg—when a stunning effort from Saul Niguez secured a one-goal advantage—Atletico were stoic in the face of Bayern’s pressure, something that has strengthened their reputation as the great misers of European football.

And that reputation led to plenty of attention on Wednesday evening.

Atletico’s defensive record in European football’s premier competition is remarkable, with Bayern almost faced with a red-and-white brick wall, having scored 27 times in their previous eight matches throughout the campaign, winning all eight.

Obviously, that means praise has again been ringing in the ears of the excellent Jan Oblak, who made a fantastic save from Thomas Muller at 0-0, and the four men strung across the defence—from right to left—Juanfran, Diego Godin, Stefan Savic and Filipe Luis.

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Such plaudits are understandable and justified, but against a team as good as Bayern—one that always looks to use the ball wisely and had 63 per cent of it, per UEFA.com—that defending started from the front, where a surprising name was selected to start.

Fernando Torres was preferred to Kevin Gameiro in attack at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Given he was starting for only the second time all season and against opponents of such magnitude, it was a surprising call from Simeone, but it turned out to be the correct one.

That is if you watched the whole game. With plenty of Champions League matches being played on Wednesday, it would be easy to just view highlights of Torres’ display and deduce that he had an evening to forget.

His header against the post from close range in the first period was the biggest blot on his copybook, but as ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan noted, he didn’t let that moment get him down.

He wrote:

"

Torres was definitely involved early on, robbing dawdling marker Javi Martinez, but lacked the pace to run clear on goal.

As Atletico upped the pressure midway through the first half, Torres had a much easier chance, but somehow headed off the post from 3 yards after being left completely unmarked at a corner.

Then, Koke's super pass found Torres free in the box, but the ex-Liverpool and ex-Chelsea man slipped while shooting and the ball flew wide. It was getting embarrassing at this point, and the Calderon fans started to sing "Fernando Torres, Fernando Torres'" to keep their idol's chin up.

"

Now aged 32, the forward has been in positions such as this before, with a fairly rapid erosion of his confidence seemingly making him a shadow of the man who shot to prominence as one of the best strikers in the world a decade ago.

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Perhaps in years gone by, he would have gone missing, opting not to show for the ball from team-mates and instead lurk either in unsuitable or offside positions.

At Atletico, though, he knows he cannot do that, for this is his club and these are his people.

Torres kept working hard and defending from the front, often closing down the two centre-backs and allowing Antoine Griezmann—nominally his strike partner but not playing like that—to do some damage further back.

Yes, Torres missed a couple of chances, but the fact he was there once again willing to go to war for Atletico seemed to whip the Vicente Calderon into a frenzy. If anything, he represented their club taking the fight to European royalty again, and the supporters were only too willing to get on board with that.

Simeone, too, seemed to enjoy his evening, per the official Atletico website:

"

I feel lucky to be the manager of these players.

They play with a passion and a commitment that is very difficult to achieve. I liked everything from today. The team pressured very well at the top. It also interpreted well going on the counter-attack and when they had to suffer, they suffered.

We played against one of the best rivals in the world. It has been one of the best performances we have made.

"

That mention of “playing well at the top” would have been reserved for Torres, who was on the pitch for 79 minutes until his withdrawal for summer signing Nicolas Gaitan, a man who would have been imagining he’d have been starting such games when he joined from Benfica.

That might still be the case in the long term, but Torres still has plenty to offer Simeone and Atletico on both a tactical and emotional level, particularly in the final season at a stadium that means so much to him as a fan and a player.

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He remains the supporters’ idol and retains all of the feelings and emotion that went along with hurling the team out of the second division earlier this century and getting Atletico back among the European elite.

Atletico fans are delighted to have the talents of Griezmann—despite his missed penalty on Wednesday—as well as others who have come into the club from the outside. In Torres, though, there is that real sense of self and pride upon which this club thrives on.

They are one of the best underdogs around in the world game, and it isn’t by coincidence they have so often got occasions such as this right under Simeone.

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Torres might not have had his best night in front of goal—perhaps his greatest nights in front of goal are consigned to the history books—but there he was again showing for the ball and demanding possession, taking on one of the supposed world elite and almost radiating Atletico’s Cholismo, which comes directly from the manager.

This was a night for the fans to revel in the familiar, as a huge European result was achieved via what seems to be the manager’s favourite scoreline, with a rock-solid defence more than playing its part.

But perhaps it was Torres' display they most enjoyed, armed with the knowledge there probably aren’t many more of them left.