Atletico Madrid came from behind to see off Espanyol away from home, and their 2-1 win keeps pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

They cut the Catalans' lead to just three points with this win, before Barcelona kicked off against Real Sociedad at Anoeta later in the day.

Espanyol took the lead when Pape Diop headed in a corner, but Fernando Torres got Atletico level later in the first half after Koke slipped him in.

The midfielder laid on another goal in the second half, with Antoine Griezmann finishing well to score his 20th of the season.

Koke got one for himself to round things off, after Torres' good work to set him up.

Here are the winners and losers from the game...

Winner: Fernando Torres

Torres had some making up to do. After being sent off against Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, allowing the Catalans to come back to win after he had opened the scoring, he apologised.

But whatever his words did to appease supporters and his team-mates, his actions spoke louder.

Torres had a fantastic game, one of his best since returning to the club. Early in the first half, he flashed a shot off the crossbar, showing he was Atletico's danger man.

That was proven to be true when he fired in the equaliser after being sent through by Koke. It was his sixth goal in 11 games.

Later he set one up for Koke, when he charged down the right and crossed it in. That contract offer may be coming his way in the summer after all...

Losers: Espanyol's Real Madrid Loanees

Real Madrid have two players on loan at Espanyol: Marco Asensio and Burgui, both of whom featured against Atletico Madrid here.

The former started the game, and the latter appeared from the bench, but neither could make much of an impact. It would have been good for the pair to get one over on the rivals of their parent club.

Asensio created Diop's goal, whipping in a corner, but beyond that had much less influence on the game than he has in other recent matches.

Burgui, meanwhile, only appeared for the last seven minutes plus stoppage time, but he was unable to fire his team back into the game.

He dumped Juanfran on the floor with one dribble, but on more than one occasion, his final product was lacking.

Winner: Pape Diop

The Senegalese star scored a wonderful header in the first half, rising highest to reach Asensio's corner and arc it into the far corner to give his team the lead.

It was, surprisingly, the third game in a row in which the defensive midfielder has found the net, each time with his head.

They came after a couple of poor performances, against Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano, so it has been a welcome run of form for Diop.

For a good period of this game, Espanyol were matching Atletico blow-for-blow, and the hard work of Diop in midfield was a big part of that.

Loser: Constantin Galca

Espanyol's coach has not been having the best time of it since he replaced Sergio Gonzalez.

Constantin Galca's future is in doubt, with Diario Sport (link in Spanish) reporting that the manager may be replaced by Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez, although the Periquitos later denied that was true.

With 36 points, it's likely that Espanyol will stay up this season, although they could yet be dragged into a relegation battle.

Espanyol's owners are hoping to bring European football to Cornella within three years, and Galca hasn't shown he's the man to lead them to that.

This was a good performance for 45 minutes, but the hosts lost their way after the interval as Atletico wore them down.

Taking a scalp like Atletico's in a week where his future was discussed would have been great tonic, but instead he left with nothing.

Winner: Koke

Koke is having a superb run of form in recent weeks and this was his best performance this season.

As well as creating the first two goals, setting up Torres and Griezmann, he fired home the third to ensure Atletico would be taking all three points home from Catalunya.

With Euro 2016 approaching on the horizon, Koke is finding form just at the right time, giving Vicente del Bosque plenty of reason to pick him for Spain.

There has been a wonderful connection between Torres and Koke of late, with the pair combining for four goals in the last three matches.

Koke set up one for Torres against Real Betis, one against Barcelona and one here, before Torres returned the favour.