Simeone: "Torres will start; he's in great spirits, fantastic"

Diego Simeone faced the media on Friday and spoke about tomorrow's trip to Espanyol - a team who are not quite yet out of the woods in 15th place and just eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Morale: "Following the Barcelona we spoke about what we thought of our game. The team is showing the same credibility and bravery and now we have another tough opponent, Espanyol, who have a midfield chock-full of players who work hard. We will have to play differently to how we played on Tuesday". 

Physical exertion: "We have four days with two games, we have recovered but our priority is tomorrow's game at Espanyol". 

Torres' contract renewal: "He did a great job the other night and he'll start again tomorrow. Within the next few days the club will announce what decision they have made regarding his contract". 

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His sending off against Barça: "In terms of spirits, Torres seems perfectly fine to me, really well, fantastic". 

LaLiga: "Atlético fans know that the Espanyol game is a difficult one for us - and an important one; we have the chance to continue aspiring to our objective with the prospect of being able to compete during the last five games of the season. That's why we have to focus on doing our job well. What happens after that, we'll have to wait and see". 

Tension for the Atlético-Barcelona return: "I don't feel that way, I see it as an important game, an attractive game to play and that's all".