liverpool 0-2

Independent:

Torres tears Terry apart to give Hodgson the tactical honours
Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0

By Ian Herbert at Anfield

Carlo Ancelotti has not reserved his eloquence for Fernando Torres in the past few weeks. While his memorable description of how Steven Gerrard wears his Liverpool shirt "inside him" was part of a paean that sounded suspiciously like a proposition a few days ago, the Italian has persistently rejected the notion of courting the Spaniard. "I've always said Fernando Torres is not our aim for the future," Ancelotti said last week.
It would take a particularly obdurate manager to maintain that indifference today towards a striker whose willingness this summer to stay on for another season at Anfield is understood to have come at the price of a gentleman's agreement, which allows Torres to leave at the end of the season if a strong offer comes in. It was not just two goals of the top order which reminded us of the Torres who has been missing – the dissection of John Terry yesterday was a throwback to the ritual humiliation of Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford 20 months ago – but the swagger, the movement, the holding play and the spirit he engendered in others. The only other player on the field yesterday capable of create a sense of apprehension like this is Didier Drogba and indeed you could hear the groan around Anfield when he appeared stripped for action after the interval, the dot matrix board telling that the fever which had left him afflicted on Saturday night had abated. Without Drogba's momentum, Pepe Reina may not have required the two top-class saves which contributed to the course of the afternoon.
But Torres had done enough by then; so much, in fact, that you wondered why the crying need for a player operating alongside or just behind him – it was virtually a 4-4-2 formation in the way the returning Dirk Kuyt started – had not been attended to by Roy Hodgson before the whole sorry saga of Liverpool's last three months had unravelled. Now for Wednesday night at Wigan – a venue where, in the course of a bad defeat last spring, Torres revealed in himself the worst of the introspection which you feel contributes as much to his struggles as his fitness. Only when the delivers against the rest as he does the best – and Ancelotti's indifference to Torres certainly gave him a point to prove – can we assess if we are witnessing the return of the genuine article.
For a day though, Torres was back, and he hauled a fair others along for the ride. Lucas Leiva, a maligned and unfashionable player who has for the last month been quietly dispelling the notion that he has only ever been at Anfield because of Rafael Benitez's misguided loyalty, contributed much to Chelsea's supply line being cut off. Raul Meireles left Anfield to an ovation. And for 45 minutes Gerrard did wear that Liverpool shirt "inside him" and gave Chelsea's Ramires the same kind of welcome he received in defeat at Manchester City in September. At both ends of the M62, the Portuguese never quite recovered from being left on the seat of his pants on the turf.
It is tempting to ascribe Chelsea's defeat – a genuinely extraordinary one given how listless Liverpool have been of late – to the discomfiting effect of sides who press them hard away from home, though Ancelotti's pragmatic – and impressive – response last night seemed a reasonable one. He had actually encountered a perfect Mersey storm. No side can enter a game minus Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Drogba and be entirely unaffected.
The failure to send Ashley Cole and Yuri Zhirkov up against the rookie right-back Martin Kelly more often seemed the only tactical oversight. But that also had something to do with Kelly, selected after Glen Johnson and Sotirios Kyrgiakos called off sick yesterday morning. Older heads than the 20-year-old, whose sole experience of Premier League football was the 19 minutes Benitez gave him in March when Liverpool against Portsmouth, would have been overwhelmed by a full League debut against the champions. But Kelly's two cool headed interceptions early on set the tone. He was not out of his league, despite blagging Florent Malouda's shirt at the end.
Not even Hodgson could have anticipated the support act he had laid on for Torres delivering quite so precisely according to plan when Kuyt, taking on a short pass from Jamie Carragher on 11 minutes, looped a pass over Terry's head for Torres to take down with a wonderful piece of right-foot control and crash into the ground and home, to Petr Cech's right. The second strike was finer. Lucas had just conceded possession, when Meireles won it back and found Torres who required five delicate touches before curling into the top right-hand corner.
Drogba's arrival after the interval created an immediate tension in Liverpool. A minute and a half had elapsed before Martin Skrtel, previously assured, was clattering into the back of him. Reina turned away a powerful shot from Zhirkov, then got his chest in the way of Malouda's point-blank effort from Drogba's low cross. When Drogba's shot under Reina's body deflected up against the crossbar Chelsea knew it was not their day.
Torres believes the best might be yet to come and reflected last night that "I'll be at my best sooner or later, I'm sure." Hodgson, whose job is under scrutiny just like any manager under new ownership, is banking on it being the former.

Match facts
Man of the match Torres Match rating 8/10
Possession Liverpool 56% Chelsea 44%
Shots on target Liverpool 8 Chelsea 5
Referee H Webb (S Yorks) Attendance 44,238

========================================

Mail:

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

By Matt Lawton

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.
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.
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.
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.

MATCH FACTS

LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina 8; Kelly 7,Carragher 8, Skrtel 7, Konchesky 6;Meireles 7 (Spearing 90min), Gerrard 7,Lucas 7, Rodriguez 6; Kuyt 8(Shelvey 84), Torres 9 (Ngog 87).Subs not used: Hansen, Wilson, Poulsen, Jovanovic. Scorer: Torres: 11, 44.

CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): Cech 7; Ivanovic 6(Bosingwa 70, 6), Alex 6, Terry 6, Cole 6;Ramires 5, Mikel 6, Zhirkov 5(Sturridge 76); Kalou 6 (Drogba 46, 6),Malouda 6; Anelka 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, McEachran, Kakuta. Booked: Zhirkov, Alex.
Man of the match: Fernando Torres.

Referee: Howard Webb 8.Attendance: 44,238.

============================================

Guardian:

Fernando Torres strikes twice as Liverpool stun Chelsea
Liverpool 2 Torres 11, Torres 44 Chelsea 0

Kevin McCarra at Anfield

A chilling darkness was to be expected on this wintry evening but Chelsea had other causes to shiver. This after all was exactly the sort of occasion to give the Premier League leaders a true insight into their condition.
The outcome will be of particular encouragement to their closest pursuers, Manchester United, who are two points adrift, because it seemed to show that the losers may lack energy.
There is a cadre of veterans in Carlo Ancelotti's team and while their wisdom looked a great asset when Spartak Moscow were beaten 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday, they had not saved anything like enough vigour to withstand Liverpool. Fernando Torres, scorer of the goals, gave a magnificent display and his clincher was superb.
So far as schedules are concerned it is worth noting that the victors had a day's less rest after their European League win over Napoli. It might be sensible for the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, to treat this fixture as a window through which he could take a very clear view of the task to come.
There will be a need for rebuilding and although the vast means he employed after completing his takeover are not expected to made available again the cost could still be rather high.
Stirring as the teenager Josh McEachran is, there is no sight of a whole gang of fearless young men bursting through to seize their destiny. As it was, Ancelotti did not turn to youth when making his substitutions until the last of them, the 21-year-old Daniel Sturridge. A second loss in the League does not doom their bid to retain the title but it was a reminder that the scope for developing the side is restricted at present.
Although the addition of Torres would have been a spectacular opening to such a project for Chelsea, his employers hung on to him and that will be critical to the club's hopes. Liverpool looked tireless but when they eventually did retreat it was done to some extent on the grounds that Torres's goals had already been scored by the interval.
This outing marked a resurgence for the Spaniard. He had not struck twice for his club in any match since April. Torres had already been crucial to Liverpool in other respects during this campaign, but it was clear he was still a little short of peak form.
That may have reflected the aftermath of injury that had hampered him at the World Cup, even if a winners' medal must have been therapeutic. Chelsea should feel that they encouraged him further.
It was hard for them to cause any concern to Liverpool since Didier Drogba remained on the bench until the second half after suffering with a fever during the night. Even so, Chelsea's means should continue to be too great for that to be seen as a cause for despair and Nicolas Anelka could hardly be dismissed as a makeshift replacement. The Stamford Bridge side have suffered at this ground before but their anonymity in the opening 45 minutes came as a shock. Although the energy levels rose thereafter, it felt as if there was a mental fatigue.
Torres would have had any opponent making a mental note to check his pension plan but Chelsea were jaded for too long and a revival went unrewarded, with Drogba's effort breaking off José Reina and on to the bar.
It is only proper, all the same, to see the vigour of a confident Liverpool as the key factor. Their striker was uncontainable. Torres's return to health and multiple goal-scoring ways is a key factor contributing to the team's overall ability. That was certainly expressed in the confidence of a side clinching their fourth victory in a row.
Roy Hodgson's formation was bold by modern standards, with Torres accompanied by another outright forward in Dirk Kuyt. And indeed it was the Dutchman who released Torres to burst through from the right in the 11th minute and dink his finish beyond Reina.
The surprise in the remainder of the first half lay in the passivity of the visitors. Liverpool's glowing self-belief illuminated their second goal in the 44th minute. After Ashley Cole had lost his balance Raul Meireles found Torres and the striker beat Branislav Ivanovic before curving a beautiful shot across Petr Cech.
Chelsea, with Drogba introduced, were much improved but Liverpool had readied themselves to guard the lead, even if that had to entail an outstanding parry by Reina in the 66th minute from Florent Malouda after a cross from the substitute. There might even have been a third for Liverpool but Cech pulled off a save from Kuyt.
Hodgson remained phlegmatic when Liverpool looked incapable of winning a game and, conversely, will hardly suppose the club has now been transformed but the atmosphere in which he now works will be stimulating.


========================================

Sun:

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0

By PHIL THOMAS

IF this is Fernando Torres when he is still to hit his peak, heaven help the rest when he does. Reports of the Spaniard's demise - and, for that matter, Roy Hodgson's - are clearly wide of the mark.
A quick word with John Terry, Ashley Cole and Co would soon back that up after the Liverpool hitman tore them to shreds - and blew the title race wide open into the bargain.
At this rate all those body-language experts who have been so quick to put the boot in are soon going to be out of business!
A week ago, Hodgson found himself having to defend Europe's deadliest finisher once again after a toothless show at the Reebok.
While the world and his dog were jumping on the Torres bandwagon, Kop boss Hodgson was adamant the Reds golden boy was close to hitting top form.
Well, if the last laugh is indeed the loudest, you would have heard the guffaws from the manager's office echoing all the way across Stanley Park last night.
Rivalled only, in fact, by the bellows of delight along the M62 as Alex Ferguson raised a glass of the finest red in honour of his fiercest rivals.
If the Manchester United chief was already on Cloud Nine at Arsenal's defeat, it will take a week to get his feet back on the ground after Chelsea followed suit.
Yes, the champions were indeed truly awful as they lost it in the first half. But that was more down to Liverpool's own magnificence than their own clangers.
And tormentor in chief, as he has been so often against them in the past, was Torres, with two finishes that stuck two fingers in the face of all those hinting he was on skid row.
Strike one came after only 11 minutes, with a goal that had Carlo Ancelotti tearing his hair out at its simplicity.
Dirk Kuyt's long crossfield ball drifted over the head of Terry, and Torres - after taking one touch to control - slipped it easily past Petr Cech.
It certainly brought a smile to the face of John W Henry in the directors' box - although co-owner Tom Werner had to rely on TV replays after getting to his seat 60 seconds after the opener.
Strike two came bang on half-time, with a sublime strike as good as you will see here all season.
The fact it arrived courtesy of a Cole cock-up only heightened the pleasure for Kopites. Heightened it, in fact, for just about everyone outside of Chelsea.
The England left-back slipped as he meandered into midfield, Lucas fed Torres and the Spaniard took one step to his right before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner.
And that was effectively game, set and match even before they had taken a sip of the half-time cuppa - certainly the way Chelsea had played.
Outrun, outbattled and out-thought in just about every area of the pitch - but in midfield in particular. Brazilian workhorse Lucas - so often the butt of cruel jokes in his Anfield career - was only a gnat's you-know-what behind Torres with a magnificent display.
Yet naturally the Spaniard's heroics stole the show - and continued his own devastating record against the Blues as he did so.
Eight times the striker has lined up against them and six times he has found the net. If, as the mischief-makers have suggested, the Kop hotshot would eventually like to chance his arm at Stamford Bridge, he could hardly have written a better application.
But really this was far, far more than a one-man show.
There were 11 heroes in red and not far short of the same number of headless chickens in blue.
The fact Pepe Reina did not have a serious shot to save until the 65th minute was proof of that. And when the Liverpool keeper was called into action, what an intervention it was, somehow scooping Florent Malouda's point-blank effort to safety.
Mind you, if there was any justice, the Reds would have already been out of sight by then anyway, they were THAT much in control.
Maxi Rodriguez had half-volleyed another fine chance over, Martin Kelly's screamer was bound for the corner until it struck Terry's knee, while Yuri Zhirkov survived a serious handball scare in the penalty area. Yes, Chelsea did pick up after the break, but they genuinely could not have been as bad again.
And for their part, Liverpool were content to hold what they already had and rely on the odd counter to maybe pinch another on the break.
Besides Reina's wonder save to deny Malouda, he deflected a Nicolas Anelka strike on to the bar, while Jamie Carragher somehow nicked it away from Didier Drogba as the Ivorian - on as a half-time sub - waited to pounce on the rebound. But even then the Reds could have added to their own haul, Cech mirroring his opposite number's great stop with one of his own to thwart Kuyt.
Not that it mattered a jot by then. Liverpool were home and dry, while Chelsea bore the look of men who knew it simply was not going to be their day.
When you are as bad as they were in that first period, it did not take a genius to have come to that conclusion already.

============================================

Star:
LIVERPOOL 2 - CHELSEA 0: SEXY TORRES GIVES ROY HODGSON BIG SMILE

By Kevin Francis

A HOLLYWOOD superstar was watching – but it was red-hot Fernando Torres who stole the show at Anfield yesterday.
Sex in the City star Kim Cattrall, who was born in Liverpool, was a guest of the club as a Torres-inspired Liverpool continued their revival.
And she saw Torres receive a standing ovation from the Kop when he left the pitch after rediscovering the goal-scoring form that has been eluding him this season.
Quite simply, he was brilliant in a game where he scored twice and took his tally to 44 goals in 47 games at Anfield.
His efforts sank the champions and earned Liverpool their third League win on the trot – and it was certainly the best win enjoyed so far by manager Roy Hodgson.
Much of the credit for that must go to the determination of a Liverpool team that is clearly growing in confidence.
Steven Gerrard was in typically inspirational form with a real sleeves-rolled up display.
Torres struck first in the 11th minute with a goal that contained the kind of class and composure we all know he possesses.
Dirk Kuyt, back in the side after injury, threaded a lovely pass through to him just inside the penalty area.
Despite the close attentions of John Terry, the Spaniard calmly collected the pass before striding forward.
He then stroked the ball past keeper Petr Cech for his fourth goal in three League games against Chelsea at Anfield.
Torres pounced again in magnificent style after 45 minutes with a stunning shot that gave Cech no chance.
Raul Meireles set Torres off and the striker squared up defender Branislav Ivanovic. Then, without even appearing to look up, he curled a marvellous right foot shot into the far corner of the net with Cech completely stranded.
The goal came at an ideal time for Liverpool against Chelsea who had left recovering flu victim Didier Drogba on the subs’ bench. But, with that two-goal deficit at half-time, they pressed him into service after the interval in the hope of getting them back into the game.
Liverpool entered the match on the back of an unbeaten three-match run that had done much to raise hopes of better things to come.
And they certainly are playing with much more confidence these days as they strive to jettison memories of their woeful start to the campaign.
They took the game to the table-toppers at every opportunity with Torres the player who always a real menace. His goal certainly had a galvanising effect on his team-mates, who pushed upfield whenever the opportunity arose.
Liverpool’s pressure was so great, in fact, that Chelsea did not win their first corner until the 39th minute!
They did mount considerably more pressure in the second half with Ramires heading over the bar in one near miss.
Then, in the 61st minute, keeper Pepe Reina did well to palm away a cracking shot from Yury Zhirkov.
Reina was at his brilliant best a few minutes later to block a Florent Malouda shot that looked certain to find the back of the net. Liverpool, although more on the back foot in the second period, still managed to pose all kinds of problems for the visitors.
They almost increased their lead with a delightful shot from Kuyt in the 75th minute that flashed into the side-netting.
Chelsea came desperately close in the 87th minute when a Nicolas Anelka shot hit Reina and spun up, hitting the underside of the bar.
It didn’t go over the line and that summed up Chelsea’s day – one that most certainly belonged to Liverpool.

=====================================

Telegraph:

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0

By Henry Winter

Somebody in the Liverpool dressing room either has a mischievous sense of humour or a surprising weakness for late Seventies soft rock. Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Lucas and company celebrated this victory with repeated playings of Sultans of Swing. Dire Straits at Anfield? Only on the dressing-room iPod.
This great old stadium was certainly rocking on Sunday, revelling in the sight of Torres back in goalscoring business, taking his league tally to 60 in 90 appearances, a ratio that speaks eloquently of the Spaniard’s heavyweight quality. Torres’s brace also provides a timely reminder of the sporting adage that form is temporary, class permanent, and he is a class act.
Nobody here will get carried away by three league wins on the spin but a new mood of cautious optimism does permeate Anfield. There is new ownership and a new impetus about the place. There is certainly a new spring in Torres’s step. And in the Kop’s. Liverpool fans were bouncing up and down, relishing the striker tearing the champions’ defence to little blue pieces.
His first goal was of particular embarrassment to Ashley Cole and John Terry, while his second left Petr Cech a bemused bystander as the ball swept inexorably home. Some of the rockets set off last night could have been distress signals in the Chelsea back line.
As well as lifting Liverpool spirits, a deserved triumph rooted in collective endeavour, the right game plan and the resharpened cutting edge that is Torres also carried a wider significance. No longer are the Premier League’s chasing pack choking on Chelsea’s vapour trails.No longer are the champions looking invincible. In stifling Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Liverpool matched Manchester City’s work-rate. Yuri Zhirkov and Ramires simply lacked the power to deal with Gerrard and Lucas. Didier Drogba, restricted to second-half action, was struggling with a fever.
Chelsea’s defence certainly caught a cold from the whirlwind called Torres. For all the praise inevitably lavished on this elegant conquistador, plaudits also need bestowing on others who march to the Mersey beat. When Chelsea sought to lay siege to Liverpool’s goal in a breathless second period, Pepe Reina stood defiant, denying Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda. Jamie Carragher rolled back the years to extra-time in Istanbul in 2005, again thwarting an Ancelotti side with his tackling and marvellous will to win.
To Carragher’s right, Martin Kelly delivered a far more secure defensive performance than Glen Johnson might have done. England’s right-back reported for work complaining of a groin problem, which might have proved a blessing in disguise for Liverpool. Barring one memorable occasion, Kelly showed no inclination to cross the halfway line as Johnson does. He just stayed fully focused on frustrating Malouda and Ashley Cole.
Kelly’s first mistake did not arrive until the 77th minute, when Drogba tricked him. Tirelessly shielding Kelly was Raul Meireles, stationed on the right of a 4-4-2 formation but occasionally drifting inside to good, creative effect.
The king of midfield, even eclipsing Meireles and Gerrard, was Lucas, the Brazilian who seized the responsibility demanded of a central two against Chelsea’s three. Lucas was immense, tackling relentlessly, closing down John Obi Mikel, Zhirkov and Ramires, cutting the supply lines to Malouda, Anelka, Salomon Kalou and, later, Drogba.
Lucas was assisted by the selflessness of Dirk Kuyt, who kept dropping back into midfield while always being quick to support Torres.
Tactically, Hodgson had sprung a surprise, starting Liverpool in a 4-4-2 system clearly designed to get bodies closer to Torres. Kuyt buzzed between the lines, disrupting Mikel’s attempts to launch attacks, but always looking to release Torres.
As in the 11th minute. When Martin Skrtel drilled a free-kick forward, Kuyt accelerated it down the inside-right channel to Torres. Gone was the sluggish striker of recent times, banished was the shadow of a world-class striker. This was the real Torres, sharp and hungry, darting through, his strength and pace accounting for Cole and Terry and then a calm finish defeating Cech. Confidence flooded through the Spaniard as if the strike were a shot of adrenalin. He promptly tried his luck again, this time from range, this time over.
Liverpool were leading, the Kop was bouncing, but Chelsea are Chelsea, worthy champions and deserving of great respect. Kalou went close with a header. Kelly made three important interceptions, his commitment and awareness drawing wild applause. On the other flank, Paul Konchesky has yet to win over the Liverpool faithful but one closing down of Terry earned a prolonged salute.
Liverpool were so up for this. Whenever a blue shirt attempted to dwell on the ball a red swarm stormed in. Whenever Liverpool had possession, they charged through the gears. Lucas drove through until cynically blocked by Zhirkov. Kelly cut in and saw a shot blocked by Terry.
Torres was causing Alex and Terry no end of problems. Such was the menace emanating from Liverpool’s No?9 that Terry lost all composure, deciding to stop his tormentor with a high knee to the back that demanded a card. Leniency came from Howard Webb, who otherwise handled a manic game well.
Torres was mainly inflicting pain, striking again a minute before the interval. When Cole slipped near the centre circle, Meireles pounced, advanced and swept the ball left to Torres. His response was majestic.
Branislav Ivanovic seemed turned to stone as Torres turned inside, before dispatching the ball into the net.
Chelsea called for the cavalry, to Drogba, and they were undoubtedly energised, forcing Liverpool on to the back foot for large periods of the second half. The pressure built and built but they never broke through. Drogba sent a free-kick wide. Ramires headed over. Malouda was thwarted only by a remarkable reaction save from Reina.
Liverpool fought hard, their commitment embodied by Kuyt. Like Torres, the Dutchman received the compliment of a flattening by Terry. Kuyt made light of the offence, soon bringing a superb save from Cech, before departing to a standing ovation. Gerrard was working overtime putting out fires, running back to cut out an Anelka cross from the left. The Frenchman then attacked from the right, forcing Reina into another fine save, the ball diverting on to the bar.
The storm withstood, Liverpool almost added a third but Cech pulled off an exceptional save from Maxi. Soon it was all over bar the singing.
Fernando stings Blues . . . and he’s a big hit with John Barnes tooTorres made it seven goals in eight games against Chelsea with his double at Anfield on Sunday.
2007-08Aug 19 2007 First competitive goal for Liverpool, opener in a 1-1 league draw at Anfield.April 30 2008 Equaliser in away leg of Champions League semi-final, to take tie into extra-time, but Liverpool lose 3-2 (4-3 on aggregate).
2008-09Feb 2, 2009 Scores both goals in a 2-0 league home win.April 8, 2009 On target in the 3-1 home defeat in Champions League, quarter-final, first leg.
2010-11Nov 7, 2010 Both goals at Anfield in 2-0 win against league leaders.
Sky TV informed the world during Sunday’s half-time break that the wife of their pundit and former Liverpool player John Barnes had just given birth to a baby boy, named Alexander. “No, no, it’s baby Fernando,” joked Barnes.