Spanish Football Paper Review - Thursday 4th January 2018
The Madrid press focused on the return of Diego Costa, who made his second Atleti debut last night in the 4-0 win at Lleida in the Copa del Rey. AS reports on a typical Costa performance with the Second Half substitute managing to get himself on the scoresheet, almost get injured and get into a dispute with an opponent during less than half an hour on the pitch.
They also look ahead to Real Madrid's trip to Numancia tonight and report on an injury to Karim Benzema, reportedly sustained in el clasico. AS are also claiming that Athletic Bilbao keeper Kepa has already signed a contract with Real Madrid.
Marca leads with a feature on former Real Madrid striker Mariano, who is currently enjoying a prolific season in Ligue 1 with Lyon. He claims his old side are not lacking goals and suggests Los Blancos are favourites to progress from their Champions League tie with PSG.
Inside, there is a story on Luciano Vietto, with Marca claiming the striker has passed a medical and will join Valencia today in a two million Euro loan deal from Atletico Madrid with the option of a permanent transfer in the summer for a further 13 million Euros.
Meanwhile over in Catalonia, Philippe Coutinho once again dominated the front pages with Sport reporting that Liverpool are holding out for more than the 140 million Euros which Barcelona paid for Ousmane Dembele in the summer.