Barcelona striker fires back at critics after Espanyol brace: ‘There’s always noise around me — it annoys them’

Barcelona striker fires back at critics after Espanyol brace: ‘There’s always noise around me — it annoys them’

It was a night of joy and blue and red celebration at the Spotify Camp Nou, but Ferran Torres walked away from his finest performance in months with something still to get off his chest.

The Valencian striker scored twice in Barcelona’s 4-1 derby win over Espanyol, ending a goal drought that had stretched across eight Liga matches.

Speaking to the media after the game, the striker made clear he had not forgotten the noise surrounding him during that difficult spell.

What Ferran said after win over Espanyol

At full capacity with 60,736 spectators packed inside, the atmosphere had been electric, and Ferran was quick to acknowledge it.

“Today it has been a furnace. It’s the match in which we have felt the crowd the most,” he said.

He was equally pleased that the performance had given the fans something to celebrate, with Real Madrid dropping more points earlier in the day, drawing 1-1 with Girona to leave Barca nine points clear.

“We have been able to dedicate the victory to them,” he added.

In the title race, despite the commanding lead, Ferran, though, was not ready to call it done. “Until it is mathematically confirmed, the league is not sentenced,” he said.

The goals will come as huge relief for Ferran Torres. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

It was when the subject turned to his goal drought that the tone shifted. Ferran’s brace could have been a hat-trick had a third not been ruled out.

When asked about ending his dry spell, he began by acknowledging the nature of his position. “A striker is judged by goals, and I had gone a long time without scoring, and I believe in work,” he said.

He then went on to fire shots at critics.

“There is always external noise around me — always more about the bad than the good. It annoys them. I am always here to work,” he added.

The statistics behind the criticism are worth noting. Ferran had gone eight league games without a goal before Saturday, and had scored just once in his previous twelve Liga appearances.

Across all competitions this season, he has contributed 18 goals and 2 assists in 43 matches.

Meanwhile, his teammate Fermin Lopez, speaking separately after the match, was in a far brighter mood and had his eyes fixed firmly on Tuesday’s Champions League second leg at the Metropolitano.

“The fans are with us, they believe in us. Hopefully, we can pull off the comeback. We controlled the match well, a shame about the goal but we controlled it well.”

“We know it is a big deficit, but we must not slip up. It will be difficult to turn it around but we are capable and we are going to give everything until the end,” he said.

Source: Diario SPORT