Fernando Torres was looking like a forward that had rediscovered his hunger before Chelsea’s visit to Tottenham and following his suspension and injury there was a worry that he’d crawl back into his shell, so it was a relief to see him firing a brace against Schalke 04 in the Champions League.
Chelsea fans have had to endure a number of false dawns where the Spanish striker is concerned but can he finally be the striker that they so desperately need?
After seeing Samuel Eto’o put in a good performance and cap it with a goal at the weekend against Cardiff City it would have been easy for Jose Mourinho to field the Cameroon striker but the Portuguese manager obviously saw something he liked from Torres against Spurs, even though he was dismissed, and praised Torres for his attitude and hard work during training.
Torres has had a tough few years at Chelsea and Eto’o has looked well of the pace at times early in his career at Stamford Bridge but judging by his words and actions they have the trust of the manager, which can pay dividends as Torres showed signs of improvement when Rafa Benitez put an arm around him last season and Mourinho will be confident that he can take the Spanish international up another gear.
When Mourinho arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu to manage Real Madrid in 2010 he inherited Karim Benzema, who only scored nine goals in his first season for the club, but the Frenchman notched 26 in that first season with Mourinho, then 32 the following year and 20 the season after that. He’s a forward that is susceptible to grumblings over his form from the press and the stands and the backing of an authority like Mourinho, as well as work on the training field, worked wonders for him at times. If Mourinho can do it for Benzema then why not Torres?
The 29-year-old already boasts a healthy amount of medals since moving to Chelsea with the Champions League, FA Cup and Europa League but he will want to win the Premier League and will want to be a bigger part in picking up silverware than he has been. I think all Chelsea fans want the best for him, especially after the amount we paid for his services, and I really hope this isn’t another false dawn and if Torres can become a regular on the scoresheet in all competitions then it’d save the club a lot of money when January rolls around and the transfer window opens once again.
Whether or not Torres is ‘back’ or how long his form will last remains to be seen as he’s frustrated us many times before. He definitely needs to improve his fortunes in front of goal in the league and having a forward that’s consistently finding the net can push teams on to title victory, but this is the best mood we’ve seen him in and he is working with the best motivator in the game, so let’s hope it’s finally his time to shine at Stamford Bridge.
