Independent:
Di Matteo's faith helps Torres lift goal burden
Chelsea 5 Leicester City 2
GLENN MOORE STAMFORD BRIDGE
No goals for 150 days, then two in 17 minutes. Even London bus passengers do not experience periods of drought and plenty to the extreme Fernando Torres has since joining Chelsea a turbulent 14 months ago.
Torres had been scoreless for 25 hours and 41 minutes' play, plus more than an hour's worth of injury time, when he ran onto Raul Meireles's pass yesterday and scuffed a 10-yard shot past the off-balance Kasper Schmeichel. Team-mates ran the length of the pitch to congratulate him, and the Spaniard looked like a man who had been relieved of a great burden.
As he had. For a £50m striker to go goalless in 24 games, during which he has been paid around £3.5m, must be crushing. The sense of freedom Torres experienced was underlined when, with Leicester City threatening an improbable comeback, he was first to a Meireles near-post corner and neatly glanced the ball inside the far post to double his tally. That confirmed Chelsea's fourth win in four matches under their interim manager, as Roberto Di Matteo is billed.
Torres has been here before. Against West Ham last season, Manchester United, Swansea and Genk this season, the dam appeared to have been burst. Each time it sealed up again. This time may be different for Torres followed his goals with two significant comments.
He said: "The team is much better than before; we are more committed and we have shown this in the last few games. We are creating more chances than before." Of himself he added: "I feel the confidence of the manager now. It is a good time for me and Chelsea."
Di Matteo is Torres's third manager at Chelsea, and like the others Di Matteo has preferred Didier Drogba for the big matches, but in the conversations he said he had with Torres he has obviously said the right things.
"The whole team and club were happy for him as he works so hard for the team," said Di Matteo. "Hopefully his confidence is high now, but I didn't mind when he wasn't scoring; as long as we win as a team is all that matters to me."
Comforting words, but Torres admitted: "I was playing at a very good level but not scoring goals. The job of a striker is scoring goals. I have been working so hard to get those goals." The issue, he added, was "not mental".
To give Torres his due, he has recently been working ferociously and looking sharp in general play; the problem has been goals, once his forte, and there has been a sense that he has been not getting into scoring positions with the enthusiasm he once would have shown. In the circumstances a hat-trick, even against a defence as porous as Leicester's, would have been a choice riposte to his critics, and Torres might have had one were he greedier. He showed, however, great unselfishness in squaring the ball to Meireles in the last minute, enabling the Portuguese to score.
Torres also gave Salomon Kalou the chance to end a less publicised drought with his first goal since 3 December. The Ivorian's 17th-minute strike followed one from Gary Cahill and seemed to put the tie to bed. However Leicester, roared on by vociferous support, never gave in and, though a replay always looked unlikely, late goals for Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall ensured Chelsea could not relax.
The Championship club had arrived in the capital hoping to revive a season drifting towards disappointment. Pearson is the third manager since Vichai Raksriaksorn bought the club in summer 2010 and he is no nearer the Premier League than Paulo Sousa and Sven Goran Eriksson were. The Thai,who made his fortune in duty-free shops, has ploughed more than £50m into the club but since around half of this is in the form of loans attracting eight per cent interest, and last year the club lost £15m, there is reason for nervousness. It is not quite a decade since Leicester went into administration over £30m.
Raksriaksorn's investment has brought a clutch of well-paid players to the East Midlands, some looking very well fed, but the team are better going forward than defending and Chelsea enjoyed themselves upfront. Cahill nodded in Juan Mata's corner unchallenged after 12 minutes then, after Paul Konchesky had cleared a Daniel Sturridge effort off the line, Kalou finished coolly following Torres's break down the right.
By then it was clear Leicester's 30-year wait for an FA Cup semi-final place was to be extended and Torres became the centre of attention. When he directed a free header from Mata's clever cross at Schmeichel, then saw the keeper turn aside a 20-yard effort, it seemed another day of frustration loomed. A Leicester reply seemed more likely, with Petr Cech saving well from Neil Danns.
Then came Torres's first goal since a double against Genk on 19 October. Illustrating his renewed confidence, he whipped a fierce shot just over the bar two minutes later. The next goal came, however, from Beckford, a smart drive after Danns's shot rebounded off the post which made him the competition's top scorer with six goals. Though Torres's second killed any hope of a shock, Marshall cheered the visitors with the goal of the game, a long-range drive, before Meireles capped a fine personal performance with his goal.
Chelsea thus moved into the last four of the FA Cup for the fifth time in seven years, Di Matteo returning to Wembley where in 1997 he scored the fastest ever FA Cup final goal against a Middlesbrough side which included yesterday's rival manager, Nigel Pearson. If the interim manager keeps this up, he will assume an air of permanence.
Match details
Chelsea: CECH 7/10; BOSINGWA 6; IVANOVIC 6; CAHILL 7; BERTRAND 6; MEIRELES 8; MATA 8; MIKEL 6; STURRIDGE 6; TORRES 8; KALOU 7
Leicester: SCHMEICHEL 5; KONCHESKY 5; BAMBA 5; MORGAN 4; ST LEDGER 4; DYER 5; WELLENS 6; DANNS 7; BECKFORD 6; GALLAGHER 5; NUGENT 6
Substitutes: Chelsea Malouda 6 (Mata, h-t), Essien 6 (Kalou, 63), Luiz (Ivanovic, 75). Leicester City Peltier 6 (Gallagher, 43), Schlupp 5 (St Ledger, 62), Marshall (Wellens, 83).
Booked None.
Scorers. Everton: Cahill 12, Kalou 17, Torres 67, 85, Meireles 90. Leicester: Beckford 77, Marshall 88
Man of the match Torres. Match rating 7/10.
Possession: Chelsea 51% Leicester 49%.
Attempts on target: Chelsea 14 Leicester 8.
Referee L Probert (Wiltshire). Attendance 38,276.
==================
Guardian:
Fernando Torres ends goal drought as Chelsea ease past Leicester
David Hytner at Stamford Bridge
The T-shirts are on their way to the printers. "I was there when Fernando Torres scored." After what could be described as a hard day's night, Chelsea's £50m striker ended his goal drought. It had passed the 24-hour mark in Wednesday's Champions League epic against Napoli and the number-crunchers had it at 25 hours and 41 minutes when Raul Meireles broke forward to cross for him.This FA Cup quarter-final was as good as over, with Chelsea coasting on the back of first-half goals from Gary Cahill and Salomon Kalou. But the home crowd wanted to see their man remove the monkey from his back and drop-kick it out of Stamford Bridge. Torres's finish hardly overflowed with conviction. Having taken a touch, he scraped his right-footed shot towards the far corner. At first, it looked as though he had mis-hit it. But the ball wriggled past Kasper Schmeichel. The outpouring of relief was ferocious.The Chelsea support has stayed with Torres throughout his travails. When he missed a couple of presentable chances here to break the duck, they responded with choruses of his name. They, too, had deserved to revel in the moment and there was more, as the London bus analogy came into force, although it might be said that even the most delayed of their number tend to turn up within the day.Leicester City's spirited attacking play merited reward and it arrived when Neil Danns' shot hit the post and Jermaine Beckford rammed home the rebound to maintain his FA Cup scoring record. It is now 15 in 15 starts. Yet it was another striker's form that was under the spotlight and when Meireles swung over a corner, Torres darted clear of his markers to glance a fine header into the far corner.He advertised the hat-trick after Leicester's second consolation, which was the best of the afternoon, Ben Marshall fizzing a long-range drive beyond the outstretched arms of Petr Cech into the top corner. Torres looked transformed and, when he galloped through and skated across the edge of the area, the crowd implored him to shoot. Instead he squared to Meireles, his provider, for the Portuguese to give the scoreline a more accurate reflection of Chelsea's control.Torres had also set up Kalou's goal and if the cynics might point to the Championship opposition – and Championship opposition who had defended particularly badly, at that – he could simply savour a man-of-the-match performance which was gilded by positive numbers. As Chelsea look ahead to defining tests, at home and in Europe, it will feel good to have Torres's confidence bolstered.The club's run goes on. It is four wins in four matches under the caretaker charge of Roberto Di Matteo and John Terry, the captain, who did not play here, banged the drum for optimism when, with opportunities in the FA Cup and Champions League, he suggested "it could turn out to be one of our finest seasons ever".Terry can normally be relied on for such tub-thumping but there was zest and cohesion about a shadow Chelsea side from the outset, in a fixture that might have been a nervy affair in the days of André Villas-Boas's tenure.The opening goal, though, was underscored by sadness. Cahill spent two and a half seasons alongside Fabrice Muamba at Bolton Wanderers and after he rose to power home Juan Mata's corner and record his first Chelsea goal, he lifted his shirt to reveal a message that caught the mood within the game: Pray 4 Muamba.Leicester's noisy travelling fans had enjoyed one or two flickers in the opening exchanges, most notably when Beckford felt that he was tripped by Meireles on the very margins of the penalty area and the eye-catching Danns endeavoured to drive them back into the game; he saw a 34th-minute shot tipped superbly to safety by Cech. Yet there was a looseness about the visitors' work at the back, where they were repeatedly exposed down the flanks.Chelsea ought to have been out of sight by the halfway point of the first half but they led only 2-0 after Torres accelerated away from Richie Wellens to cross for Kalou, who showed wonderful composure before stroking his shot past Schmeichel. The home support thrilled to sublime touches from Daniel Sturridge and Mata; the latter teed up Torres for a header that was directed straight at Schmeichel and Mata also saw a goal-bound shot hit Paul Konchesky.Torres became the principal subplot and when he sliced when well-placed in the 59th minute, it felt as though it would be the familiar tale of positive flashes overshadowed by a lack of cold-bloodedness in front of goal. This time, though, he fashioned a different script.
Man of the match Fernando Torres (Chelsea)
==============
Telegraph:
Chelsea 5 Leicester City 2
By Henry Winter, Stamford Bridge
“Fernando Torres, he scores when he wants,’’ sang the Chelsea fans after 67 minutes, borrowing Arsenal’s paean to the prolific Robin van Persie. It had been 25 hours and 40 minutes since Torres last scored, a barren stretch of Kalahari proportions.
Not since Oct 19 against Genk had Torres found the mark. Winter had come and gone. The trees had shed and regained their leaves. Even the protesters had come and gone outside St Paul’s. Torres was risking rivalling “The Mousetrap’’ for London runs. Then, like London buses, two goals came along at once and the blond-streaked Spaniard was smiling again.
Fittingly, the audience for Torres’s return to the scoring charts was an all-star sporting cast including Boris Becker, Peter Schmeichel, Gary Lineker and Stuart Pearce. Ashley Cole, who was rested in advance of Wednesday’s game atManchester City, looked on, resplendent in a smart jacket over a James Dean T-shirt.
They will be selling “I was there’’ T-shirts here next, celebrating Torres’s goals. “I needed those goals,’’ Chelsea’s No 9 said. “I’d been working so hard to get those goals and in the last month the team is much better than before. We are more committed and I think we have shown in the last two or three games that we can do things in a good way. I’m feeling much better. I was playing good but I wasn’t scoring goals. But I found the net today so it’s a good day for me. I feel happy.’’
He agreed that it was not the best touch for the first goal. “Well, you’re desperate, desperate so you’re not going to relax,’’ said Torres of his arrival at the end of a super build-up involving John Obi Mikel, Daniel Sturridge and Raul Meireles. “It’s a good team move. Many passes, counter-attack. Good transition and good finish into the corner. The main thing is we are making more chances. I think maybe this season I am playing at a very good level but I was not scoring goals in this period and the job of the striker is to score goals.
“So if you don’t do it then the people think you are playing badly but for me the main thing is the support of the people. They have all been with me. The team-mates, the staff. I feel the confidence of the manager now.”
Such a sentence could be construed as criticism of Andre Villas-Boas, who never fully understood how much the misfiring Torres needed reassurance. Yet Roberto Di Matteo clearly favours Didier Drogba, who made only the bench as Chelsea kept one eye on the Etihad . With seven changes ahead of Wednesday’s trip, Chelsea started slowly, sloppily, lacking the urgency that swept Napoli aside so memorably last week. The understudies briefly fluffed their lines.
Meireles fouled Jermaine Beckford just outside the area but Lee Probert waved play on. Neil Danns, excellent throughout, then played in Beckford, who shot wide.
Chelsea shook off their cloak of sloth. When Juan Mata curled a corner, Gary Cahill headed in before lifting his top to reveal a vest with the message for his stricken old Bolton Wanderersteam-mate – ''Pray 4 Muamba’’. To the relief of all, Probert wisely decided against a caution. Let us hope such common sense and compassion does not incur any criticism in the assessor’s report.
Chelsea’s second soon arrived. Torres outstripped Richie Wellens down the right, using a trick to gain a yard and then a flick of the accelerator to motor clear before squaring to Salomon Kalou, who steered the ball calmly past Kasper Schmeichel.
Still the blue waves rolled towards a Shed end that belonged to Leicester’s wonderfully voluble fans for the day. As Torres attempted to relocate his penalty-box satnav, Leicester finished the second half strongly. Beckford, a former Chelsea youth-team player, twice threatened. Then Cahill dawdled, gifting possession to Danns, who was denied only by a magnificent stretching save from Petr Cech.
And then it came. Nirvana. Shangri-La. The end of an era. The goal. Good move too. The ball flowed from Mikel to Meireles, who exchanged passes with Sturridge before stroking the ball from right to left to Torres. Two touches later and it was in the net. Torres followed the ball in, as if to check it was really there. It was.
Inevitably, his confidence restored, Torres was a completely different creature. Although far from back to anywhere near his best, Torres was moving more freely, playing with instinct rather than inhibition. He shot over and then outmuscled Wes Morgan, not the easiest task.
Chelsea’s defence then decided to go through one of its uncertain phases. When Danns drove through the middle, David Luiz and Cahill backed off, encouraging the Leicester midfielder to let fly. Cech was beaten but not the post, the ball rebounding for Beckford to play the poacher, finishing first time.
Then it was back to the Torres show. From a Meireles corner, Torres’ run totally caught out Paul Konchesky, giving him the yard of room to flick a terrific header past Schmeichel. After Ben Marshall made it 4-2 with a powerful shot from 25 yards, Chelsea simply broke upfield, Florent Malouda releasing Torres, who could have gone for hat-trick glory but selflessly rolled the ball across for Meireles to apply the coup de grâce. Chelsea are at Wembley. Torres is in dreamland.
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Mail:
Chelsea 5 Leicester 2: Delight at last as Torres finally ends his drought with a double
By SAMI MOKBEL
It lasted 25 hours, 41 minutes and stretched a staggering 151 days — but the Fernando Torres goal drought is finally over.
The Chelsea striker scored his first goals since a double against Genk on October 19 by grabbing another brace against Leicester to secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
And in a red-letter day for Torres, the Spaniard provided assists for two more goals to suggest maybe, just maybe, he is back. The former Liverpool striker produced arguably his best display in a Chelsea shirt since last year’s £50million move from Liverpool.
‘I needed those goals, I’d been working so hard,’ said Torres. ‘I found the net so it’s a good day for me, I feel happy.
‘I think maybe this season I am playing at a very good level but I was not scoring goals in this period and the job of the striker is to score goals.
‘So if you don’t do it then the people think you are playing badly but for me the main thing is the support of the people. They have all been with me. The team-mates, the staff. I feel the confidence of the manager now and obviously it’s a good time for me and for Chelsea.’
Torres was not the only man with a grin wider than Stamford Bridge on Sunday. It is now four wins out of four for Roberto Di Matteo, who can now look forward to taking his side to Wembley next month to take on Tottenham or Bolton.
And on this display, he may be the man to succeed where Carlo Ancelotti and Andre Villas-Boas failed — getting the best out of the club’s record signing. ‘We are so happy for him, because he works so hard for the team,’ said the Chelsea boss. ‘He is a great team player — and when you work hard you get your rewards. Hopefully his confidence is going to be high.
‘I didn’t mind when he wasn’t scoring because as long as we win as a team that is what matters to me.’
Torres’s afternoon started brightly, winning a free-kick for the home side inside a minute after a powerful and incisive run, evoking memories of his havoc-wreaking Liverpool days. Two minutes later, the Spaniard produced another marauding run down the right before playing a perfect pass to Juan Mata, who saw his shot blocked by defender Wes Morgan.
Torres headed the resultant corner over the bar — but nevertheless, the signs were encouraging.
And Chelsea took the lead in the 13th minute with a simple goal, as Gary Cahill nodded home a corner from Mata. The former Bolton defender lifted his jersey to reveal the poignant message: ‘Pray 4 Muamba’. Cahill was visibly emotional after the goal as he battled on despite having seen his former team-mate suffer horrifically at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
‘We checked with Cahill before the game — he was shaken like the whole football community and our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Fabrice, but he managed to focus on the game and had a very good game as well,’ said Di Matteo.
Chelsea doubled their lead five minutes later, with Torres the orchestrator. He burst down the right before playing an inch-perfect ball in to Salomon Kalou, who neatly slotted past Kasper Schmeichel.
But as the Blues eased into the semi-finals, the next question on everyone’s lips was: ‘Could Torres finally hit the back of the net?’
The answer looked a resounding ‘no’ when the World Cup winner directed his free header straight at Schmeichel after Mata’s beautiful cross despite having virtually the whole goal to aim at. And when offered another glorious chance in the 59th minute, his goalbound shot from Raul Meireles’s corner was blocked by Souleymane Bamba.
But his time finally arrived in the 67th minute when he rolled Meireles’s square ball past Schmeichel to end the barren run.
Jermaine Beckford raised hope of a dramatic comeback in the 77th minute when he rammed home Neil Danns’ shot that cannoned off the post, but Torres doubled his tally four minutes from time with a glancing header from Meireles’s corner.
Substitute Ben Marshall powered home from 30 yards to make it 4-2, but Meireles had the final say after slotting home after another Torres assist. ‘You’ve got to recognise the quality they have,’ said Foxes manager Nigel Pearson. ‘It was always going to be tough, but we had to keep things tighter and to concede from two set plays is disappointing.’
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Sun:
Chelsea 5 Leicester 2
By CHARLIE WYETT
HIS worryingly-good impression of Andriy Shevchenko has stopped. Finally
The Spaniard delivered his finest performance in a Chelsea shirt with two goals, two assists and in general, was a total pain in the backside for Leicester's defence.
For that, Roman Abramovich must thank Roberto Di Matteo.
Blues' Italian caretaker boss has steered them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and now the semi-finals of the FA Cup — to face either Spurs or Bolton.
Yet his biggest achievement of a four-game reign is to make Torres believe in himself.
The striker then took little time before plunging the knife into the back of ex-boss Andre Villas-Boas, claiming it was nice to once again have the backing of a manager.
Di Matteo is a cocky individual and may not be a massive favourite at the club's training ground.
Equally though, he has massaged a few bruised egos within the squad while repairing the shredded confidence of this one-time goal machine.
Unfortunately for Torres, 28 tomorrow, he will not come across lumbering centre-backs like Sol Bamba and Wes Morgan every week.
Albeit against second-tier opposition, Torres looked a real menace and his finishing was excellent.
Many believe Chelsea have recreated history by signing a player who will rank alongside £30.8million Ukranian striker Shevchenko as a total flop. Yet £50m Torres is better than that.
On Wednesday evening, we will see whether Torres can once again bully the best when his team travel to Manchester City.
Suddenly, though, Chelsea may fancy their chances, providing Torres can continue to show such enormous belief.
This entertaining game, which included four goals in the last 13 minutes, would not have made comfortable viewing for City's defenders, even though they have conceded just six goals this term.
At one stage, it looked as though Torres would suffer another day of frustration, despite playing well and having set up Salomon Kalou for the second goal.
Yet after 66 minutes and 54 seconds, the goal finally came. Like a London bus, goal No 2 came on 84 minutes and 54 seconds.
Before then, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill put Chelsea into the lead after rising above Bamba to head past Kasper Schmeichel. It was Cahill's first goal since joining from Bolton but in a subdued celebration, he pulled up his shirt to reveal a 'Pray for Muamba' message.
A comfortable win looked certain when Torres picked up the ball 10 yards inside his own box, tore past Ritchie Wellens and cantered towards Schemichel's goal before squaring for Kalou.
Torres sent a simple header straight at Schmeichel before being denied with a smart save. Finally, though, he scored for the first time since he faced Genk on October 19 to end his nightmare.
Ironically, it was former Liverpool team-mate Raul Meireles who was the provider, with Torres taking one touch before sending a delicate side-foot into the corner of the net.
Hardly surprisingly, Torres' strike was met by a massive roar from the Chelsea fans, whose support throughout for their much-maligned player had been impressive.
The home players flocked to congratulate Torres with Branislav Ivanovic running the length of the pitch for a hug.
Jermaine Beckford scored a goal that Leicester deserved after a shot from the impressive Neil Danns hit the foot of the post.
Yet Torres grabbed his second with a fine, glancing header with Meireles once again the provider.
In a bizarre end to the game, Leicester sub Ben Marshall scored the best goal of the day with a brilliant 25-yard effort — and maybe it is just a coincidence that Chelsea started conceding when David Luiz was on the pitch.
While Torres looked odds-on to end his drought with a hat-trick, he showed his unselfish side — Daniel Sturridge take note — by giving Meireles the easiest of chances to net.
Paul Konchesky got Torres' shirt at the end of the game although this was the closest a Leicester defender got to the Man of the Match.
Leicester, of course, know all about wasting money, as their Thai owners have blown £53m on the club. In return, they have got a mid-table Championship team. While his fee remains a ludicrous amount of money, maybe after the most torrid of spells Torres will come good in a blue shirt.
Maybe, Di Matteo will be remembered as the man who succeeded where Carlo Ancelotti and Villas-Boas failed and get the best out of this undoubted talent.
If he can continue this type of form and re-establish himself as one of the most menacing strikers in the world, then Chelsea's season could end with a silver pot.
Perhaps even two.
DREAM TEAM STAR MAN - FERNANDO TORRES (Chelsea)
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 6, Ivanovic 6 (Luiz 5), Cahill 7, Bertrand 7, Mikel 7, Meireles 7, Sturridge 7, Mata 7 (Malouda 6), Kalou 7 (Essien 5), Torres 9. Subs not used: Hilario, Lampard, Drogba, Ferreira.
LEICESTER: Schmeichel 7, St Ledger 5 (Schlupp 6), Morgan 5, Bamba 5, Konchesky 5, Gallagher 4 (Peltier 6), Wellens 6 (Marshall 5), Danns 8, Dyer 5, Nugent 6, Beckford 7. Subs not used: Smith, Howard, Kennedy, Hopper.
REF: L Probert 7
======================
Mirror:
Chelsea 5-2 Leicester City:
By Martin Lipton
It's been a long time coming. Too long, as he himself conceded.
One hundred and fifty one days, 26 appearances, 25 hours and 41 minutes of playing time.
But as Fernando Torres rolled home from Raul Meireles’ pass to find the back of the net in front of the Matthew Harding Stand, repeating the dose for good measure soon afterwards, it felt significant.
Felt as if a huge burden, that had hung over Stamford Bridge as well as the £50million Spaniard, had finally been lifted.
Felt, at last, that this might be the springboard Torres has needed.
“He scores when he wants,” chanted the Chelsea fans, the supporters who never pilloried him, even when it looked as if he could not buy a goal, who were desperate for Torres to come good.
Five goals in his previous 51 appearances, since his move from Liverpool, suggest otherwise, of course. Yet this, even taking into account the porous nature of a Leicester side whose brilliant fans got their deserved reward late on through strikes from Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall, was a sighting of the Torres who Roman Abramovich thought he was signing 14 months ago.
Movement on and off the ball. Driving with purpose. Positioning himself in the danger zone and applying the clinical touch.
Yesterday, he created when he wanted, too, setting up finishes for Salomon Kalou and Meireles, after Gary Cahill nodded the Blues in front and then paid public tribute to former Bolton team-mate Fabrice Muamba.
Forlorn and seemingly friendless a few short weeks ago, everything is different now. For Torres and for Chelsea, revitalised since Andre Villas-Boas’ sacking.
The proof of the latter came against Napoli in midweek, victory hewn from the depths of potential despair. Yesterday, as Branislav Ivanovic dashed 80 yards to embrace the Spaniard and the Bridge sung his praises, was the undeniable evidence of the former.
Indeed, as Chelsea claimed their place in the Wembley semi-finals against either Tottenham or Bolton, after a display of attacking vibrancy that they never came close to under the little-lamented Portuguese, they looked like a very different side.
Part of that was down to Leicester’s approach. The effort of Beckford, Neil Danns and Lloyd Dyer showed Nigel Pearson’s men can cause problems for anyone, but at the other end they were an open door.
Shoddy marking contributed to the opener inside 12 minutes. Torres’ foraging forced a right-wing corner, swung in with his left foot by Juan Mata, and which found Cahill timing his run from deep perfectly to leap above Sol Bamba and power his header down and beyond Kasper Schmeichel.
Mata then had an effort foiled on the line by Paul Konchesky, before Torres crossed for Kalou to slot home.
For a while, it seemed as if it would be another one of those days for Torres, after being twice denied by Schmeichel.
But when Daniel Sturridge connected with a pass to Meireles, Torres finally steered home with his second touch.
Leicester responded, Danns thrashing against the post with Beckford first to the rebound, before Torres got on the end of Meireles’ near-post corner to flick home his second in 18 minutes, the drought that started against Genk on October 19 truly over.
Marshall pulled another back from 25 yards, before Torres, who might have opted for glory, instead set up Meireles to score a fifth in stoppage time.
The standing ovation for the Spaniard was deserved even if Cahill was accidentally initially awarded the man-of-the-match bubbly by the ESPN interviewer.
Perhaps it is finally take-off time for Torres. Next stop City on Wednesday.
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Express:
CHELSEA 5 LEICESTER 2: GARY CAHILL AND SALOMON KALOU GOALS SMASH FOXES
By Gary Jones
Fernando Torres finally ended his goalscoring drought as his brace helped Chelsea book another visit to Wembley Stadium after a comfortable 5-2 victory over Leicester in the FA Cup sixth round at Stamford Bridge today.
Early goals from Gary Cahill and Salomon Kalou set the Blues on their way as Roberto Di Matteo maintained his 100% winning start to his tenure as Chelsea boss.
Torres added the third after 67 minutes to end a spell of 25 hours 41 minutes of football for Chelsea without scoring.
His second came five minutes from time as he flicked home a near-post header with Raul Meireles also scoring in the last minute.
Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall grabbed the consolation goals for Leicester, who will now go back to trying to force themselves into the npower Championship play-off picture.
Torres has shown glimpses of his former self in recent weeks and the Spaniard was instrumental again against the Foxes with his goal coming after several decent efforts and good link-up play.
Roberto Di Matteo maintained his 100% winning start to his tenure as Chelsea boss
Chelsea started the better of the two sides with Torres looking lively from the outset.
It did not take long for Chelsea to take the lead as Cahill rose at the far post to head home Mata's 12th-minute corner to open the scoring.
The ex-Bolton player celebrated by revealing a shirt in support of former team-mate Fabrice Muamba.
Torres was again involved as Chelsea doubled their advantage six minutes later as he broke into the Leicester half and outpaced Konchesky before sliding in Kalou, who finished calmly past Schmeichel.
Moments later Torres should have broken his duck as he was found in the centre of goal by Mata, but headed straight at Schmeichel.
The visitors struggled to keep possession for any meaningful length of time as their supporters continued to cheer them on from the packed Shed End.
The Foxes responded and Beckford fired wide before Neil Danns had their first decent effort on goal in the 33rd minute as he forced Cech into a smart save at his near post.
Chelsea sat back and allowed Leicester to keep possession in and around their penalty area but restricting them to long-range efforts.
Cahill then took the ball away from Danns' toe as he broke into the box as Chelsea eased to half-time.
Florent Malouda was introduced by Di Matteo at half-time and stung the palms of Schmeichel with a long-rang effort on 51 minutes.
Torres had another chance just before the hour mark but his left-footed effort was deflected clear as the Chelsea supporters willed their £50million man to find a goal.
The visitors then started to come forward with more purpose as David Nugent was stopped on the edge of the box before Lloyd Dyer flashed a shot just wide.
The moment the home supporters had longed for came in the 67th minute as Torres squeezed Meireles' pass into the corner to score his first goal in over 25 hours.
The Spaniard almost grabbed another but his effort two minutes later just cleared the crossbar.
That goal seemed to killed off the game as a contest but Beckford managed to force Cech into a good save with 15 minutes remaining as the Leicester players looked to give their travelling support something to remember from the afternoon.
That moment came only moments later when Beckford, who scored on his last appearance at Stamford Bridge, powered home after Danns' effort had crashed against the post.
The three-goal margin was soon restored through Torres, who scored his second of the game with a near-post header from a Meireles corner with five minutes remaining.
Leicester substitute Ben Marshall then scored arguably the goal of the game as he bent an effort around Cech and into the corner.
Torres showed he has an unselfish side as he passed up the opportunity of a hat-trick to set up Meireles to score low under Schmeichel.
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Star:
CHELSEA 5 - LEICESTER 2: FERNANDO TORRES IS GLAD TO BE BACK IN GOAL ROUTINE
By David Woods
FERNANDO TORRES ended his goal drought at long last and then took a potshot at axed boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Torres scored two and made two as the Blues progressed into the semi-finals of the FA Cup on a bitter-sweet day at Stamford Bridge.
His strikes ended a famine lasting 25 hours and 40 minutes, stretching back 151 days to when he claimed a double against Genk on October 19 in the Champions League.
Just as rare as a Torres goal has been a grin from the Spaniard, with the striker looking glummer and glummer while Villas-Boas left him festering on the sidelines.
But caretaker boss Roberto Di Matteo gave him his chance yesterday and he took it.
Torres hinted he had not been happy under Villas- Boas, saying: “I needed those goals. I’d been working so hard to get those goals and in the last month the team is much better than before.
“We are more committed and I think we have shown in the last two or three games that we can do things
“The main thing is we are making more chances than before. We have shown we can score goals and we are not conceding too many.
“I’m feeling much better. I was playing good but I wasn’t scoring goals. But I found the net today so it’s a good day for me. I feel happy.”
Torres admitted his first goal, a scuffed right-foot shot, was not the best connection. “Well, you’re desperate so you’re not going to relax,” he added.
Di Matteo revealed he had been having personal chats with Torres, but declined to say what he had told him.
“Hopefully his confidence is going to be very, very high now,” said the Italian.
First to score for the Blues was Gary Cahill in the 12th minute.
Juan Mata curled in a corner from the right and the centre-back buried a head- er, then revealed a shirt underneath his jersey, saying ‘Pray For Muamba’ – a message for stricken Bolton star Fabrice Muamba.
Six minutes later Torres went on an impressive 60-yard surge down the right then teed up Salomon Kalou for the second.
Torres was furious in the 20th minute when Daniel Sturridge tried to chip into goal rather than set him up for a tap-in.
But when Mata did just that two minutes later, after a brilliant take on the left byline, Torres headed straight into Kasper Schmeichel’s hands. And a minute later Schmeichel kept out a Torres 20-yarder by leaping to his right.
In the 34th minute Petr Cech had to pull off a great one-handed save to keep out a Neil Danns shot.
Then, in the 59th minute a Torres goal looked to be coming but, after the Spaniard had cleverly set him- self up on his left foot, Wes Morgan blocked his shot.
But in the 67th minute it finally arrived. Sturridge passed to Raul Meireles, whose ball allowed Torries to sidefoot in ... just.
“He scores when he wants,” sang the delighted home faithful.
Cech denied David Nugent, but could not stop Jermaine Beckford following up after Danns’ shot smacked against a post.
Torres’ second came in the 85th minute, with a pinpoint glancing header from a Meireles corner.
Then substitute Ben Marshall claimed his first goal for Leicester with a stunning, 30-yard strike.
Torres shunned his chance of a hat-trick by squaring for Meireles to sidefoot home in the last minute of normal time.
Torres knows he must do a lot more than score twice against a Championship side to force his way back into Spain’s Euro squad. But key games with Manchester City, Tottenham and Benfica are coming up.
It will be interesting to see if Torres, who is 28 tomorrow, starts to look like a £50m player again or, more importantly, whether Di Matteo will give him the chance to show he can.
