Atletico's Llorente explains striking transformation

But in Saturday’s match between the two La Liga rivals he will be one of his side’s main goal threats after making an remarkable transformation from a little-used holding midfielder to a deadly forward, capable of turning big matches on his own.

Llorente truly announced himself as an unlikely hitman with two stunning extra-time goals in Atletico’s 4-2 win over then Champions League holders Liverpool at Anfield in March.

He explained how coach Diego Simeone had been carefully preparing him for the positional change, helping him make a strong start by scoring in his first appearance as a forward in a 2-2 draw with Valencia last February.

“He had warned me a few weeks before that it was a possibility I could play a bit further forward and told me to get ready for it,” Llorente told a La Liga conference call on Thursday.

“The moment eventually came and things went pretty well in the game and I’ve made a lot of progress since.”

Yet he truly made his mark one month later.

“The Anfield game was a turning-point in my career, it changed my life,” added Llorente, whose father Paco played for Atletico and Real Madrid while great uncle Francisco Gento was a six-times European Cup winner with Real.

“It was a very special game, probably the best I’ve ever played.”

Llorente gets a regular reminder of his career-changing performance every time he visits his mother, who chose to name a puppy after the stadium where Marcos made his name.

“My mother is a great support for me, she suffers a lot whenever she watches my matches and she was really happy for me that day, it really made a mark on her,” he explains.