Spanish daily sports newspaper Sport have hailed Manchester City winger Ferran Torres for his ‘hyperactive’ performance in Spain’s shock 2-1 defeat to Sweden on Thursday night.
Luis Enrique’s side led their World Cup qualifier after five minutes when Carlos Soler scored on his international debut. But just 12-seconds after the restart, Alexander Isak seized on a defensive mistake to equalise. Viktor Claesson put the hosts ahead early in the second half.
The result marked Spain’s first defeat in a World Cup qualifying fixture since 1993, ending a 66-game unbeaten run. Sergio Busquets played a role in the upset, as Isak capitalised on his error on the edge of Unai Simon’s penalty area to equalise.
Busquets was erratic throughout as Spain fell behind Group B leaders Sweden, who have won all three of their qualifiers. Gerard Moreno also offered no telling impact in Enrique’s attack, and lacked cohesion with his underwhelming strike partner Alvaro Morata.
But Torres was a rare positive on a disappointing night for Spain, with the Manchester City winger still shining brightly. The £46k-a-week forward caused problems on both sides on the pitch, and tried to take the game to Sweden. To earn the praise of the Spanish press.
“The best in the attack,” Sport wrote. “That is why ‘Lucho’ has kept him. He has caused a penalty that Taylor did not want to see and has been very active on both the right and left sides when it was his turn. He is very fit and that is why he is an undisputed starter at City.”
Additionally, Marca claimed Torres was ‘associated with danger’ for Spain against Sweden, as the Manchester City forward earned his 18th-cap.
Torres continues Manchester City form with Spain against Sweden
Torres joined the Spain squad to face Sweden brimming with confidence after starting the season strongly with Manchester City. He struck a brace and offered an assist during the 5-0 rout over Arsenal last weekend. Firing past Bernd Leno in the 12th and 84th minutes.
The 21-year-old also made some nice runs during the opening day defeat at Tottenham while featuring as a false-nine. He stayed centrally at Norwich, too, and created several openings, while seeing the video assistant referee chalk off his goal.
Pep Guardiola will be glad to see Torres’ central role for Manchester City so far this season has not affected his wide output after starring for Spain in defeat to Sweden on Thursday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
