Filed under: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, Football
Fernando Torres woke up on Sunday morning with headlines proclaiming that Chelsea were considering the possibility of sending him out on loan in January if he fails to emerge from his personal crisis.But those headlines are probably more favourable, and certainly less embarrassing, than the ones he will read on Monday after a quite bizarre afternoon at Old Trafford.
It went from the sublime to the ridiculous for Torres in the capricious encounter with Manchester United, as the previous 83 minutes were washed away following a dreadful miss that will have had Ronny Rosenthal breathing a huge sigh of relief.
After appearing on a mission to salvage his career at Stamford Bridge with a performance of menace, movement and skill he is now back to square one and destined for inclusion on every football blooper DVD for this year's Christmas stocking fillers.
Even after such an appalling miss, it was difficult not to feel sympathy for him as he trudged off the field disconsolate, with his already brittle confidence shot to pieces again.
Just as he had done on the opening day of the season at Stoke, he displayed glimpses of returning to the old Torres, the striker that became one of the most feared in Europe during his spell at Liverpool.
The pace and trickery was back and perhaps the memories of his excellent display for Liverpool in the 4-1 rout over United in March 2009 helped provide him with a lift.
His goal early in the second half was a sublime finish almost out of nothing while shortly after he almost added a second by dancing past a string of United challenges outside the area.
But after rounding David De Gea with the goal at his mercy seven minutes from the end of an absorbing encounter, his world came crashing down around him again and manager Andre Villas-Boas must now be wondering how he responds.
He said: "You have to be fair. We have seen two of the world's best strikers miss crazy opportunities, Fernando with his miss and Wayne Rooney with his penalty. This is nothing dramatic but sometimes it becomes something."
Villas-Boas is already growing tired of answering constant questions on Chelsea's British record signing but even he must realise the "obsession", as he calls it, after such a nightmare moment.
Chelsea will return to action on Wednesday with a Carling Cup tie against West London rivals Fulham. Will Villas-Boas keep Torres in the team in a bid to boost his confidence or take him out of the firing line?
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/09/19/fernando-torres-needs-to-recover-quickly-from-nightmare-moment/
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