Category: FT9

Pressure is extremely high on Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado after the Spaniard has failed to produce the goals since his £ 26 million move from Valencia in the summer. He was expected to be the club’s main source of goals after the departure of Gareth Bale. However, he has only a handful of goals since joining the club and with most of them coming from the penalty spot. He is in danger of losing his position to Emmanuel Adebayor, who was out of favour under former manager Andre Villas-Boas. Since the appointment of Tim Sherwood, Adebayor has returned to the starting line-up and has been scoring regularly.

Villas-Boas says that he can compare the situation faced by Soldado to the one experienced by Fernando Torres at Chelsea. The Spaniard has never been the same player since moving to Chelsea for a British transfer record fee of £ 50 million. There have been suggestions that the former Atletico Madrid man has failed to cope with the huge transfer fee on his shoulders. Soldado has not yet scored for Tottenham in 2014 and he was left on the bench for the big match against Chelsea last weekend.

Torres also endured similar struggles and he has been looking to get back to his former glory days ever since. Villas-Boas says Soldado needs luck in order to turn his form around.

“It’s also happened to Fernando Torres. In the Premier League it is very important the impact you made at the beginning. Soldado started the season well but he has failed to keep the regularity in terms of goals. That is crucial in a player’s adaptation to English football. His movements and his qualities as a scorer are tremendous. I’m sure his time will arrive. Maybe a little later than he expected but he has the quality to do it,” said Villas-Boas.

Fernando Torres finally found the back of the net in an away match to end the ignominious record of not a single Chelsea striker scoring away from home in the last 13 months. That record included Torres, who has been a shadow of his former self since the move from Liverpool. However, he managed to end his record by scoring with a deflected effort against Southampton. He will be hoping that the year 2014, which has begun in great fashion, finally gets him back to the top of English football.

After the match, goalkeeper Petr Cech has praised Torres and striker Samuel Eto’o for the work they have done with the club this campaign. Even though they may not have scored the number of goals like Suarez, they have been very crucial to Chelsea style of play according to Cech. He thinks that both strikers are finding form at just the right time in the season. Eto’o took a long time to score his first goal, but he has been finding the net in important matches like the one he did against Liverpool in the 2-1 win for Chelsea.

After dropping only two points during Christmas, Chelsea are finally breaking free of the chasing pack and aiming for the title along with Arsenal and Manchester City.

“It is the first day of the year so great to start it with Fernando scoring like this. Hopefully the strikers will continue to bang goals in away from home. Samuel scored an important one at home against Liverpool and now Fernando has scored a very important one against Southampton, so it is great for them. Are they finding form at the right time? Yes. They have been working really hard for the team. They have both been brilliant and now they have got their rewards with a goal,” said Cech.

Fernando Torres recently helped Chelsea get three points against Southampton, who managed to open the scoring after just 13 seconds. Manager José Mourinho has admitted after the match that the goal was extremely difficult to take because it happened so quickly. Rodriguez managed to take hold of Michael Essien’s poor back pass to score the goals just seconds after the start of the encounter. For much of the first half, it looked like Chelsea were going to suffer the first home defeat under Mourinho since they created very little going forward.

They were unable to create chances for play football due to the high pressing game of Southampton. Mourinho made a few changes to the system at half-time, while also bringing on Demba Ba for Essien. The changes made to the desired effect because Chelsea won the game 3-1 after goals from Gary Cahill, John Terry, and substitute Ba. Even though Torres was not on the scoresheet, his effort in the encounter was visible throughout the match. He was given a standing ovation by the supporters when he was taken off for John obi Mikel in the late stages of the game.

“The goal was like a knife in our back – by surprise you are losing 1-0. [But] in the first half we played very well. We played with balance, we played calm, no panic, no silly decisions, no mistakes, not going from 1-0 to 2-0, not risking a lot. That was a sign of maturity. We deserved the three points in a match which was a must-win for us. We knew that three title contenders lost points before us, so it was important for us to win this game,” said Mourinho.

Mourinho was in full praise of the striker, who had worked extremely hard. The Portuguese has praised players who have been working hard in the defensive area of the pitch.

Chelsea have been dealt a major blow with the news that striker Fernando Torres will miss up to 3 weeks of action after suffering an ankle injury in the 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest. The Spaniard started this match in anticipation of the ban, which will make him miss the match against Norwich. The likes of Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o will be fit strikers for Chelsea over the next few weeks. After starting the match following an impressive performance over Tottenham, Torres suffered an injury early in the first half. He had to be substituted by Cameroon international Eto’o.

The 29-year-old underwent scans in order to determine the extent of the injury. It could have been very worse for Chelsea, who had lost the services of Marco van Ginkel for the rest of the season only recently. However, scans have revealed that has suffered injury to his medical ligaments and will be out for only about three weeks. The injury blow is also softened by the fact that the international matches will take place over the next two weeks. Ideally, he would miss matches against Cardiff and Schalke after the international break.

Mourinho said that it was disappointing news for the striker, who looked like his old self against Tottenham during the weekend.

‘Chelsea Football Club can confirm Fernando Torres suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee in the Champions League group game at Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday evening. The 29-year-old will be out for approximately three weeks,’ read a statement on the official website of the club. ‘I hope he gets well soon for me, for him and for the team because I think he is going to be a very important player for us,’ said his club and international teammate Juan Mata after the news.

Spaniard Fernando Torres has been linked with a return to his home country in the summer since he does not appear to be part of new manager José Mourinho’s plans at Stamford Bridge. Immediately after taking over, the Portuguese said that he was not entirely happy with the performances of Torres so far. However, he may be prepared to give the Spaniard an opportunity to prove that he will be capable of living up to his £ 50 million price tag. Despite this, Chelsea have been linked with a move for several strikers like Edinson Cavani over the last few weeks.

This coupled with Barcelona’s need for a striker means that inevitably Torres has been linked with Barcelona. It is no secret that Torres interest playing against Barcelona especially at the camp Nou. He has scored for different clubs at this iconic stadium, but he has moved swiftly to reject any rumours about a possible move to the Catalan club by saying that he wants to stay with Chelsea. He has said that he still feels like having an unfinished job at the club, and he will be holding talks with new manager Mourinho in order to determine his future.

He is currently with the Spanish national team squad at the Confederations cup.

“I look forward to talking with Mourinho and to know what plans he has for me. The first thing I am aware of is he will expect much more from me, I expect more from me. Now I have pressure Mourinho adds and that’s a challenge for a player. I have known Sandro Rosell for a long time. There is a personal relationship, but nothing more than that. My head is now in the Confederations Cup, immediately after that Chelsea,” said Torres will also dismissing his personal relationship with Sandro Rosell – the Barcelona president.

Fernando Torres has said that he is still adapting to the way Chelsea play, as he aims to return to his best form. The Spaniard was signed from Liverpool for a whopping transfer fee of £ 50 million, but he has been a major disappointment at the club. He has managed just a handful of goals in almost 100 appearances for the club, but this season has been promising for the striker. He has managed to find the back of the net on 19 occasions in all competitions, but he has also been especially good in European competitions.

Torres has said that the arrival of several new players like Eden Hazard and Oscar has changed the way Chelsea have played. Hence, he has been added into the new style of play, which has not been easy, but he has hope that the next season will turn out much more positive. Torres has been starting almost every match for Chelsea this season in the absence of competition. Only after the arrival of Demba Ba for Newcastle United in the January transfer window has he been given competition for the starting places.

The 29-year-old, though, has said that he would welcome even more competition in the form of new strikers, which the club are hoping to sign in the summer. “This season has been better but not at the level I want to be. Not a better player. It’s different. We have a different team, a different style, very quick. It’s not been an easy season for anyone. New players come and they have been important players for the team. We are adapting to them. I think Chelsea has a top team and we always have the ball,” said Torres ahead of the match with FC Basel in Europa league on Thursday night.

Fernando Torres has been the lone striker for Chelsea through to the season after the current Liverpool man Daniel Sturridge was mostly injured or not selected during the last six months. As a result, Torres has played almost every game for Chelsea without a break. The arrival of the £ 7 million hitman Demba Ba from Newcastle United a few weeks ago provides Benitez with the opportunity to rest Torres. The £ 50 million man has struggled for form of a consistent basis, but he has managed to score 14 goals in all competitions.

He is the top scorer at the club, but the recent performances have dipped. Benitez has said that this has been due to the lack of rest for the striker. Now that he has Demba Ba at his disposal, Benitez has confirmed that he intends to provide Torres with more rest in the coming weeks. Immediately after the arrival of Benitez, Torres sparked into life and scored on a consistent basis. However, the form has deserted him in the last few weeks. His last goal for the club came in the 8-0 victory over Aston Villa almost a month ago at Stamford Bridge. Benitez has said that Torres will play much better when he is fresh and fit.

“Torres is a Chelsea player and the fans have to understand that he will always do his best. It is really important for everyone to understand the way to win is to win together. Hopefully we can change that now if Torres can rest. He will be fresher and fitter and play at the level we know he can play,” said the Chelsea manager. Torres had the unwavering support of the Chelsea fans until recently. His poor performances have led to the Chelsea fans booing their own player on certain occasions.