Villa flying for Spain but Torres struggling
Reuters - Friday 25 June 2010, 22:25
PRETORIA - David Villa added to his
repertoire of spectacular goals to help fire Spain into the last
16 of the World Cup on Friday but there will be concern about
the continued poor form of his strike partner Fernando Torres.
Villa, who netted against Honduras on Monday after a superb
weaving run and clinical strike and later added a second, scored
a stunning long-range effort from wide on the left to put the
European champions ahead against Chile on Friday.
He also laid on a goal for midfielder Andres Iniesta as
Spain eased past the South Americans 2-1 to win Group H and set
up a clash with European rivals Portugal on June 29.
"I thought about controlling it but I saw the keeper was out
of his goal and managed to hit it perfectly and thank goodness
it went in," Villa told reporters at the Loftus Versfeld stadium
in Pretoria.
"It's just an instinctive thing that happens on the pitch
sometimes," added the 28-year-old, who has struck 41 times for
Spain in 61 appearances and is closing in on the national
scoring record of 44 in 102 matches held by Raul.
"These things are always nice but of course what is
important is that Spain wins," he said. "If Iniesta hadn't
scored too it would have counted for nothing."
While Villa continues to bang in the goals, Torres has yet
to rediscover his normally devastating finishing ability after
only recently returning from knee surgery.
His first touch was often poor against the Chileans and he
squandered two good chances early in the first half before being
replaced in the 55th minute by midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
"Fernando was feeling a few minor niggles and we decided it
was better to bring him off," coach Vicente del Bosque said in
an interview with Spanish television.
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