Rafael Benitez has said that Fernando Torres may stick with his ‘lucky’ protective mask until the end of the season as he’s rediscovered some of his old form.
Despite many of his recent goals coming in the Europa League (four in his last three EL matches) he has made an impact when he has played of late, most recently when he came on against Manchester City at the weekend when Chelsea almost came back from 2-0 down but Torres was denied a penalty late on.
He also came on to good effect against Sunderland when the Blues were 1-0 down and immediately forced an equaliser after coming on as a sub, in fact he’s played well since the game against Steaua Bucharest in which he broke his nose.
The form he has shown since then has led to a few running jokes about the influence of the mask and has earned him the nickname of Zorres. It is of course pure hokum that the mask is causing him to play better but footballers can be superstitious creatures and he should continue to wear it if he believes that it’s helping him.
Benitez spoke about the 29-year-old:
“He’s training well. He has confidence now and if he needs to keep the mask on, he will.
“He has to be comfortable. If he’s okay with the mask and has to wear it, he will go maybe until the end of the season.
“I’m not sure, I don’t know. It depends on him and he’s comfortable now playing with the mask.”
