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VALENCIA - ATLÉTICO

When Fernando Torres brought Gary Neville to 'goalgasm'

With the ex-Premier League pair's sides facing off in LaLiga, AS looks back at the moment Torres drew wails of ecstasy from the current Los Che boss.

Valencia
Torres le marcaba así al Barcelona en semifinales de la Champions.
Torres le marcaba así al Barcelona en semifinales de la Champions. REUTERS

Valencia boss Gary Neville came up against Atlético Madrid's Fernando Torres just once in the Premier League, in a 2-1 Manchester United win over Liverpool in the 2009-10 season. The Anfield club's goal that afternoon came courtesy of Torres, but the clash produced few moments of note involving both the Spaniard and former defender Neville.

Type "Gary Neville Fernando Torres" into Google, however, and the search engine brings up no fewer than 421,000 results. The reason? Chelsea's Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona in 2012.

Semi-final hero Torres with the trophy after Chelsea's 2012 Champions League triumph.
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Semi-final hero Torres with the trophy after Chelsea's 2012 Champions League triumph.

With the 90 minutes up in the tie's second leg at the Camp Nou, then Blues striker Torres made sure of the West London outfit's progress to the final - where Roberto Di Matteo's men would go on to see off Bayern Munich - when he ran through on goal from inside his own half, rounded keeper Víctor Valdés and tapped in.

And Neville, commentating on the match for Sky Sports, reacted as the ball hit the net with a prolonged moan of ecstasy that became an immediate internet hit, with replays and remixes of the ex-England international's gurgle of elation, swiftly dubbed the 'goalgasm' in the UK, spreading across social media like wildfire.