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Villa flying for Spain but Torres struggling

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 55^th 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. (Additional reporting by Teresa Larraz in Madrid) (Editing by Sonia Oxley)