Liverpool have managed their best start to a league campaign for 11 years - and Fernando Torres has only just got his act together.
Captain Steven Gerrard believes the Spaniard is back to his “deadly” best after Liverpool “made a statement of intent” in the title race with their Merseyside derby victory.
The 2-0 win over a worried Everton side means Liverpool remain unbeaten this term, with their neighbours struggling to recapture anything approaching last term’s form.
Torres has spent the opening weeks of the campaign shaking off the effects of a summer which saw him win the European Championship with Spain.
He has shown little of the form that produced 33 goals last season, and even in his two-goal display against Everton he was nowhere near his peak.
But now the striker believes he is about to launch into overdrive as Liverpool go after the Barclays Premier League title.
Torres said: “It has been a difficult start for me this season after a busy summer. But now I have got myself back into form with these two, I hope to go on a run like last season and maybe get more than the 33 I managed then.
“We know if we can stay near the top of the table in January or February we can win the title.
“We must stay in the first three or four, and if we can keep winning in the Champions League we can have a fantastic season.
“I have been working very hard and knew the goals would come.”
Such has been the pain of the ongoing 18-year wait for another title Liverpool triumph, it is inevitable that excitement soars as soon as they start showing signs of a genuine challenge.
Gerrard is doing his best to calm the growing expectation, and said: “It is important to be humble now and not get carried away.
“We have got a big game on Wednesday in Europe and then another vital match against Manchester City on Sunday. It is important no-one gets carried away.
“There’s a long way to go and we realise how tough it is going to be to still be in the hunt come the end of the campaign, so we need to keep going, but we have set a standard that we need to match week-in, week-out.”
Gerrard wants to see Liverpool perform on a regular basis to the level that saw them out-play Everton.
He said: “The victory was probably our best performance of the season.
“We had been winning games but stumbling along, but this has set the standard now and if we can continue that level then we will certainly be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“We controlled the game all the way through. It was a statement of our intentions.
“We were together, played some terrific football and the performance showed how frustrated we were not to take maximum points from Stoke the previous weekend.”
Gerrard underlined the fact that Torres has finally found something like the form of last season, even if it took a booking and an exchange with referee Mike Riley over his treatment from defenders and officials alike before he sparked into action.
The Spaniard had managed only one goal previously this term.
Gerrard said: “It was only a matter of time.
“You cannot keep strikers with his talent down for long because they are not going to go long without a goal. It was going to happen.
“He was a bit frustrated, but then Robbie Keane has put one on a plate for him and the second one was typical Torres.
“He made a lot of space for himself in the box and the finish was deadly.”
Gerrard is still searching for his 100th goal for the club, but he said: “It will come, I’m confident of that. The most important thing was the win and it was all about the team.
“As a local lad these are the most difficult games to prepare for. The nerves start and you can’t wait for the game to come about, so the fear of losing these games takes up a lot of energy beforehand.”
Captain Steven Gerrard believes the Spaniard is back to his “deadly” best after Liverpool “made a statement of intent” in the title race with their Merseyside derby victory.
The 2-0 win over a worried Everton side means Liverpool remain unbeaten this term, with their neighbours struggling to recapture anything approaching last term’s form.
Torres has spent the opening weeks of the campaign shaking off the effects of a summer which saw him win the European Championship with Spain.
He has shown little of the form that produced 33 goals last season, and even in his two-goal display against Everton he was nowhere near his peak.
But now the striker believes he is about to launch into overdrive as Liverpool go after the Barclays Premier League title.
Torres said: “It has been a difficult start for me this season after a busy summer. But now I have got myself back into form with these two, I hope to go on a run like last season and maybe get more than the 33 I managed then.
“We know if we can stay near the top of the table in January or February we can win the title.
“We must stay in the first three or four, and if we can keep winning in the Champions League we can have a fantastic season.
“I have been working very hard and knew the goals would come.”
Such has been the pain of the ongoing 18-year wait for another title Liverpool triumph, it is inevitable that excitement soars as soon as they start showing signs of a genuine challenge.
Gerrard is doing his best to calm the growing expectation, and said: “It is important to be humble now and not get carried away.
“We have got a big game on Wednesday in Europe and then another vital match against Manchester City on Sunday. It is important no-one gets carried away.
“There’s a long way to go and we realise how tough it is going to be to still be in the hunt come the end of the campaign, so we need to keep going, but we have set a standard that we need to match week-in, week-out.”
Gerrard wants to see Liverpool perform on a regular basis to the level that saw them out-play Everton.
He said: “The victory was probably our best performance of the season.
“We had been winning games but stumbling along, but this has set the standard now and if we can continue that level then we will certainly be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“We controlled the game all the way through. It was a statement of our intentions.
“We were together, played some terrific football and the performance showed how frustrated we were not to take maximum points from Stoke the previous weekend.”
Gerrard underlined the fact that Torres has finally found something like the form of last season, even if it took a booking and an exchange with referee Mike Riley over his treatment from defenders and officials alike before he sparked into action.
The Spaniard had managed only one goal previously this term.
Gerrard said: “It was only a matter of time.
“You cannot keep strikers with his talent down for long because they are not going to go long without a goal. It was going to happen.
“He was a bit frustrated, but then Robbie Keane has put one on a plate for him and the second one was typical Torres.
“He made a lot of space for himself in the box and the finish was deadly.”
Gerrard is still searching for his 100th goal for the club, but he said: “It will come, I’m confident of that. The most important thing was the win and it was all about the team.
“As a local lad these are the most difficult games to prepare for. The nerves start and you can’t wait for the game to come about, so the fear of losing these games takes up a lot of energy beforehand.”
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