Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0: Fernando Torres gives Blues double trouble as Reds' revival continues

By Matt Lawton

Cool finish: Torres keeps his head to slot home the opener for Liverpool as Terry closes in


What a remarkable transformation. In Fernando Torres, in Liverpool, even in Roy Hodgson.

It was only 21 days earlier, after all, that Hodgson watched his side stutter to an utterly demoralising defeat at Everton.

He sat in the press conference that followed, the manager of a Liverpool team seemingly drowning in the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League, and tried to defend a display so abject that a watching John W Henry must have wondered exactly what £300million had just bought New England Sports Ventures.
At Anfield, Henry and his colleagues must have been feeling rather more pleased with their purchase. They do have some players capable of matching their considerable ambition. Not least in the form of a striker who, only a week ago, looked like a poor imitation of one of the world's finest.

From Bolton to here, the change in Torres was extraordinary. At the Reebok he was wretched. At Anfield he was awesome, scoring two quite brilliant goals to condemn Chelsea to only their second League defeat of the season and propel Liverpool to ninth in the table.


In the execution of both his firsthalf strikes there were flashes of the player we have grown to admire; the same player who followed a brilliant first season at Liverpool with the winning goal in the final of Euro 2008; who was then voted among the top three footballers on the planet.

If there remain concerns about his pace, and whether those knee and groin problems have robbed him of the ability to accelerate in the same fashion, he has certainly rediscovered much that is good about his game.

The predatory instincts were back, as was the intelligent movement and the touch of a genius. It was best demonstrated in the first goal, even if the finish for the second was more spectacular.

For Hodgson, it was obviously a relief to mark Henry's first League game at Anfield with such a memorable victory.

'Until this, my most enjoyable day at the club was when I arrived in the summer,' he said as he celebrated his first ever win against Chelsea.
'And it's been downhill ever since.'

The difference in his team was obvious. Confidence. The confidence that was missing for the first two-and-a-half months of the season but began to return with that defeat of Blackburn and now appears to be back in abundance.


Kop idol: Anfield salutes striker Torres as he celebrates by the corner flag with Reds midfielder Meireles


Four straight wins is some run for a team who were on thier knees at Goodison and you sense they can now build on this, despite the fact that a shortage of top-level players will undermine their chances of seriously challenging for honours.

Even Henry must realise that. Even Henry, with his limited knowledge of his new sport, must have recognised that yesterday they beat a Chelsea team weakened significantly by the absence of key individuals.

Didier Drogba's entrance was delayed until half-time - Carlo Ancelotti said he was suffering with a fever on the eve of the match - but it was in midfield that the game was lost. With no Michael Essien or Frank Lampard, Chelsea lacked their usual strength and power, and Liverpool benefited enormously as a result. Lucas, too often a lightweight at this level, actually looked quite dominant at times.


Over the top: Chelsea captain Terry (top) and midfielder Obi work together as they attempt to stop Torres


There were a number of good Liverpool performances. While Dirk Kuyt was outstanding for a player just back from injury, Raul Meireles had one of his best games for the club, as did young Martin Kelly as emergency cover for Glen Johnson at full back.

It was Kuyt, though, who provided the ball for that opening goal from Torres in the 11th minute with a delightful diagonal ball that the Spaniard anticipated brilliantly.

First came the touch to bring it under control, then the combination of speed and strength to escape the clutches of John Terry and finally the finish, lifted over the advancing Petr Cech. Chelsea finished the game having enjoyed 60 per cent possession, mainly because Liverpool struggled to retain the ball after the break.

But they offered little in response and paid for a lack of urgency and finesse with the goal Torres then produced just before the interval.

What started with Ashley Cole losing the ball to Meireles continued when the Portuguese midfielder delivered an excellent pass into the path of Torres, who took two or three strides before unleashing a curling right-footed shot that squeezed through blue shirts and between a flat-footed Cech and his left-hand post. It was the Spaniard's 44th goal in 47 League appearances at Anfield, further proof that Henry must do all he can to keep him at the club.

With the arrival of Drogba came an improvement in Chelsea's football and with it the need for some fine defending, not least from Pepe Reina, who excelled in denying Florent Malouda from close range in the 66th minute.


Get in: Torres watches his effort find the net as the Spaniard doubles Liverpool's advantage
In fairness to Liverpool, Cech had to produce a similar save to stop Kuyt from increasing Liverpool's advantage eight minutes after that.


But when Nicolas Anelka then saw a shot bounce off Reina and strike the underside of the crossbar, only the rapid reactions of Jamie Carragher prevented Drogba from reducing the deficit.

Understandably, Hodgson was as delighted as Ancelotti was disappointed to see his side's lead at the top of the Premier League cut to two points.

Hodgson has been under enormous pressure since Henry and his business partners bought this football club and even on Friday, when the American held court with a selection of reporters in London, he could not give the former Fulham manager many guarantees.

This, and indeed the three straight wins that came before it, will have bought Hodgson some time, and a quick glance down the fixture list would suggest they can climb higher still over the next fortnight. After trips to Wigan and Stoke they will host West Ham.

'I'll enjoy ninth for a little while,' said Hodgson with a smile.

It's not the kind of statement a Liverpool manager would usually make, but it's a measure of just how desperate a situation Liverpool were in as recently as three weeks ago.



source: dailymail

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