It’s difficult to work out what was the bigger shock at Anfield on Saturday – Stoke gaining a point or the strange feeling that many among the Liverpool faithful are not happy with Fernando Torres’ form.
It’s not long since ‘El Nino’ could do no wrong it seemed.
As Liverpool’s record signing’s debut season in England went on, he just got better and better.
Torres finished the campaign with 24 Premier League goals to eclipse Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for an overseas striker kicking-off his career on these shores and his overall total in all competitions was a mightily impressive 33.
Having quickly become a cult hero at Anfield with his own unique song and ‘bouncing’ dance in the stands, the former Atletico Madrid striker took his form onto the international stage over the summer, netting Spain’s winning goal in the European Championship final and in doing so ending his country’s 44-year wait for a major trophy.
Although Torres’ heroics in Austria and Switzerland meant that he and the rest of the victorious Spanish quartet in Liverpool’s squad returned late for pre-season training, he certainly looked up to speed by the time the Premier League’s opener came around a month ago.
Under pressure for long periods away against a much-improved Sunderland side, Liverpool pinched the points at the Stadium of Light thanks to another breathtaking piece of Torres brilliance.
Hardly given a sniff all evening, Liverpool’s number nine emerged from seemingly nowhere to crash home the winning goal with virtually his only shot on target of the game.
Five weeks on from his Wearside wonder strike, Torres has become the subject of some quiet rumblings of complaint from his adoring public.
It would still be a brave, or indeed foolish man, to back against a fully fit Torres breaking the 20-goal barrier again this season but just at this moment, the fact that the 24-year-old is a mere mortal is evident.
Whisper it carefully at Anfield because football has a habit of making you look stupid if you write someone off prematurely, especially a front man of such world class quality as Torres but some are even daring to use phrases like “second season syndrome.”
And as the hosts huffed and puffed but were unable to blow the Potters’ defensive house down, the chief culprit in front of goal was the normally clinical Torres.
Fed by compatriot Arbeloa, who is keeping new recruit Philipp Degen out with a string of assured performances in the right-back slot, Torres’ best opportunity came with a headed effort he normally would have buried, but on this occasion the ball sailed wide of the left-hand post.
Another two shots followed from the edge of the area, but both flew over the bar and into the Kop as a resolute Stoke rearguard, who had leaked 11 goals in five previous games this term, dug deep to hold out for their first clean sheet of the season and the most welcome of Premier League points.
A niggling hamstring injury has hampered Torres’s campaign so far, a factor not lost on his manager Rafael Benitez who admits that neither his main striker or influential skipper Steven Gerrard are entirely 100% fit at the moment.
And although it may have been purely coincidental, unbeaten Liverpool’s worst Premier League result of the season so far came just a week after their best – a 2-1 success against English and European champions Manchester United which was a first ever league win over their rivals from Old Trafford during Benitez’s reign.
It’s highly unlikely that Torres will figure against Crewe Alexandra in Liverpool’s Carling Cup third round tie at Anfield tomorrow night so he has a week to get Saturday’s misses out of his system.
And those dissenting voices among Liverpool’s supporters will soon be silenced if the Spaniard manages to repeat his feat of six months ago and nets a winner in the Merseyside derby.
It’s not long since ‘El Nino’ could do no wrong it seemed.
As Liverpool’s record signing’s debut season in England went on, he just got better and better.
Torres finished the campaign with 24 Premier League goals to eclipse Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for an overseas striker kicking-off his career on these shores and his overall total in all competitions was a mightily impressive 33.
Having quickly become a cult hero at Anfield with his own unique song and ‘bouncing’ dance in the stands, the former Atletico Madrid striker took his form onto the international stage over the summer, netting Spain’s winning goal in the European Championship final and in doing so ending his country’s 44-year wait for a major trophy.
Although Torres’ heroics in Austria and Switzerland meant that he and the rest of the victorious Spanish quartet in Liverpool’s squad returned late for pre-season training, he certainly looked up to speed by the time the Premier League’s opener came around a month ago.
Under pressure for long periods away against a much-improved Sunderland side, Liverpool pinched the points at the Stadium of Light thanks to another breathtaking piece of Torres brilliance.
Hardly given a sniff all evening, Liverpool’s number nine emerged from seemingly nowhere to crash home the winning goal with virtually his only shot on target of the game.
Five weeks on from his Wearside wonder strike, Torres has become the subject of some quiet rumblings of complaint from his adoring public.
It would still be a brave, or indeed foolish man, to back against a fully fit Torres breaking the 20-goal barrier again this season but just at this moment, the fact that the 24-year-old is a mere mortal is evident.
Whisper it carefully at Anfield because football has a habit of making you look stupid if you write someone off prematurely, especially a front man of such world class quality as Torres but some are even daring to use phrases like “second season syndrome.”
And as the hosts huffed and puffed but were unable to blow the Potters’ defensive house down, the chief culprit in front of goal was the normally clinical Torres.
Fed by compatriot Arbeloa, who is keeping new recruit Philipp Degen out with a string of assured performances in the right-back slot, Torres’ best opportunity came with a headed effort he normally would have buried, but on this occasion the ball sailed wide of the left-hand post.
Another two shots followed from the edge of the area, but both flew over the bar and into the Kop as a resolute Stoke rearguard, who had leaked 11 goals in five previous games this term, dug deep to hold out for their first clean sheet of the season and the most welcome of Premier League points.
A niggling hamstring injury has hampered Torres’s campaign so far, a factor not lost on his manager Rafael Benitez who admits that neither his main striker or influential skipper Steven Gerrard are entirely 100% fit at the moment.
And although it may have been purely coincidental, unbeaten Liverpool’s worst Premier League result of the season so far came just a week after their best – a 2-1 success against English and European champions Manchester United which was a first ever league win over their rivals from Old Trafford during Benitez’s reign.
It’s highly unlikely that Torres will figure against Crewe Alexandra in Liverpool’s Carling Cup third round tie at Anfield tomorrow night so he has a week to get Saturday’s misses out of his system.
And those dissenting voices among Liverpool’s supporters will soon be silenced if the Spaniard manages to repeat his feat of six months ago and nets a winner in the Merseyside derby.
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