Chelsea FC – Project Torres and Mourinho’s Next Big Challenge

By Ed Fernandez
11 years Ago

Chelsea have finally figured out how to get the best out of Torres, thanks to what was either a masterstroke by Mourinho or a happy accident.

When Chelsea’s favorite manager decided the only thing left untried in the long list of failed attempts at revitalizing the Spaniard, was getting another striker that was somehow even more washed up than Torres was. Enter Samuel Eto’o, and suddenly Torres is a new man.

Make no mistake about it. Manchester City are an incredibly powerful team; arguably, better than Chelsea and the sky blue brigade from Manchester are potentially the strongest team in the league. It says something about the intimidating power in their ranks, when even Jose Mourinho at home is content to look for a draw against them. And that’s why Torres’ resurgence is rightfully the talk of the town, and the chief reason for Jose Mourinho’s smiling visage.

As Mourinho himself pointed out, Chelsea frontman Torres had changed on a fundamental level. He was faster, stronger, smarter and now has the stomach for a fight. Having missed an obvious first-half chance, you’d have been forgiven for thinking Torres was going to crawl back into his shell and lick his wounds. But that groan-inducing miss only served to drive his ambition further. He responded like a champion setting up Andre Schurrle who had little to do but tap in, to get Chelsea’s first goal. Torres whose earlier workmanlike avatar would toil aimlessly for the team, receiving only a patronizing pat on the back for his efforts, was no more. Instead, Torres proved to be an incessant thorn in the side of Joe Hart and co. as he menaced Pellegrini’s backline.

Scoring the winning goal was just reward for Chelsea’s best player of the game. Chelsea may not have deserved a win in a game that seem destined for a draw, but Torres certainly did. A review of the game necessitates a study of Torres’ attitude when he was forced out wide, in the run up to the first goal. Ordinarily, if the last couple of seasons were anything to go by, Torres’ shoulders would’ve dropped as he either squandered possession or tamely struck the side netting. The new Torres had other plans on his mind, though.

Torres’ desire, only seemed to grow with leaps and bounds after his assist. He narrowly missed his second attempt at goal by a few millimeters, one that would’ve grabbed headlines had he converted it. Among the select few to play all 90 minutes, Torres showed his legs hadn’t given way just yet, when he latched on to a defensive error by Nastasic and Hart, scorching the field in his wake.

In many ways the game served as a reminder of the potential Chelsea’s young hitherto-unsung guns have. Lampard was taken off after struggling to keep pace with the battle of two increasingly dynamic midfields. Making his mark only in set-pieces, Lampard’s frustrating day was capped off by a late tackle on Fernandinho. Obi Mikel, Lampard’s replacement, provided some much needed vigor in the midfield.

Creativity was in short order, against the physical strength of City. Eden Hazard who pleaded with Howard Webb for a very generous penalty, was also in for a rough day at the office. Failing to get past more than two City players on several occasions, Hazard struggled to weave his magic. His counterpart, David Silva had a relatively better showing to boast about, as Chelsea’s midfield failed to exercise the same stranglehold on creativity that City’s dark forces did so well. Hazard could however take comfort in knowing both Nasri and Navas failed to light up the field, in what all 3 must consider just one of those days.

But surely what will give Mourinho sleepless nights are the frequent errors his defensive units have been making. John Terry’s superhuman ability to get into the right spot at the very last instant, is no longer sufficient to cover his decreasing speed. Against the likes of Aguero, John Terry was pressed all day into putting in more than his fair share of exertion. Despite his deficiencies, Terry held off the seemingly inevitable goof up until Gary Cahill claimed it for himself. In what would have struck Terry as eerily reminiscent of some of his worst memories, Gary Cahill got caught out trying to lay the offside trap for Aguero. The successful shot that ensued, and the change in momentum towards City seemed to hint towards a triumph for the visitors. Jose Mourinho’s anxiously darting eyes indicated he thought as much.

But if Mourinho’s public pronouncements are anything to go by, he may have yet another ace up his sleeve. For all the noise about his embarrassing blunder against Cardiff, and the jokes about the Playstation controller, Mourinho referred to him and Terry as his ideal central defense partnership and mused about young David finally growing up.

If Mourinho can manage that, then Torres’ redemption will have paled in comparison.

Categories: Chelsea FC, English Premier League, Features
Tags: Chelsea FC Mourinho Torres

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