Atletico de Madrid vs Villarreal preview - Godin: Strikers must find scoring touch

Posted Saturday, March 05, 2011 by PA

Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin admits his side desperately needs star strikers Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan to rediscover their goalscoring touch as the Rojiblancos try to secure themselves a European berth.

Aguero and Forlan scored almost 50 goals between them in all competitions last season but the duo have not been so prolific this time around and in Atletico's last eight games the pair have contributed only one strike.

With the two South Americans struggling, Atletico have also faltered and, having won the Europa League and finished runners-up in the Copa del Rey in 2010, this term has largely been a campaign of disappointment.

The club are already out of both cup competitions and, with opponents Villarreal 15 points in front of them in fourth place, they also look unlikely to get into the Champions League berths.

That means Atletico's main goal now will be to get back into the Europa League, with sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao three points ahead.

To achieve that feat, Quique Sanchez Flores' side are likely to need Aguero and Forlan to start hitting the back of the net again on a regular basis.

Godin said: "They're not putting in as many goals as last season. We need the goals of Forlan and Aguero because they're the ones who make the difference and the ones who move the team forward."

Regarding his fellow Uruguayan Forlan, who has netted only nine times in league, cup and Europe this season, Godin added: "A goalscorer lives off goals. So far this season he hasn't had that scoring streak that boosts your confidence. He looks for the goal, but hasn't been lucky."

Atletico have shown good fighting spirit this week to recover from deficits against both Sevilla and Getafe to earn draws.

That has allowed them to close the gap on Athletic, who have lost four successive matches, but the capital club know they may not escape going behind for a third consecutive game against high-flying Villarreal.

Godin, who moved to Atletico from Villarreal last summer, said of his former team: "We know that they're a good side that's tough to beat. I know them well, but you don't need to know them. We've all seen Villarreal and we know how they play. It's going to be an extremely tough match."

Villarreal went through a bad patch recently which saw them pick up just one point from matches against lowly trio Levante, Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga, and then needed an injury-time equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw from their trip to Racing Santander last weekend.

The Yellow Submarine got back to winning ways in midweek when they defeated Hercules 1-0, a victory that saw Juan Carlos Garrido's side move to within a point of third-placed Valencia.

Striker Giuseppe Rossi scored the only goal of the game to take his tally to 13 for the season and help Villarreal open up a 10-point gap over fifth-placed Espanyol.

The Italy international said: "I would sign now for 20 goals this season and help the team get into the Champions League."