Many had already called it the worst buy of the season, and until Saturday, Fernando Torres looked a shadow of the player that was, at one point, touted as the world’s best striker.
He had lost that deadly acceleration, that used to frighten defenders, as well as his killer instinct in front of goal. All this, combined with his hefty price tag, meant that he was struggling to score, and people everywhere were criticizing his poor run of form.
We can no longer mock Fernando Torres. Many had fun mocking the Spaniard's abysmal season so far, and everyone laughed at the price Chelsea paid for the out-of-sort’s striker. Liverpool fans thought that they had gotten the better end of the deal, and until Saturday, all that looked true. But he ended his drought with a goal that seemed reminiscent of his Liverpool days.
The goal against West Ham came on Saturday, as he finally ended his drought that lasted 14 games and 730 minutes, scoring a great left-footed strike against West Ham. In that one goal, we saw why he is considered to be the best, as he showed all the skills we felt that he had left back at Merseyside.
As a devout Arsenal fan, every Chelsea goal meant an opportunity to hurl the remote in frustration and a reason to cringe. But for the first time in my life, I actually celebrated a Chelsea goal.
Since his move to London, I always felt that he would struggle with Chelsea’s style of play, which is vastly contrasting to that of Liverpool’s. I felt that for him to replicate his form would be an uphill task, with him likely to fall short.
But I always hoped that I would be proven wrong, and his goal shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel after all.
His goal doesn’t guarantee that his Chelsea career will be a success, but the relief of scoring a goal was there for all to see. It was not just the relief of the Spaniard—it was there to see in the faces of the entire team, as they celebrated the much awaited goal. The entire team piled on top of the ecstatic Spaniard. The fans, too, reveled in the moment. Torres finally announced his arrival as a Chelsea player.
The positives in scoring his first goal are many, and this goal will no doubt do his fragile confidence a world of good. The burden of a £50 million price tag can weigh on the shoulders of even the best, and Torres has struggled as a result of the intense spotlight that has been focused on him and his extended goal drought.
The goal will help to remove the heavy focus on his drought, and it will reinvigorate the striker that all Chelsea fans have wanted to see score. The relief was obvious to those watching the match, and he immediately followed up with an assist for Malouda’s goal.
He has definitely scored greater goals before, and that includes his second against Chelsea, back when he was a Liverpool player earlier this season. But considering the intense media speculation and circumstances, this might just turn out to be the goal that started the rise of another Chelsea legend.
And credit has to be given to the Chelsea faithful who stuck by the side of the struggling striker and never wavered in their support of the Spaniard.
When he was signed, both Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka were struggling to find the net. His signing, made by Roman Abramovich rather than Carlo Ancelotti, was expected to make some sort of instant impact and breathe life into Chelsea’s faltering season. Until today, he failed to make any sort of impact, a positive one at least.
On one hand, while fellow last-day signee David Luiz was on fire, Torres was struggling to do anything right. He failed to help Chelsea get past Manchester United and was abysmal in the EPL.
Supporters of many clubs would have abandoned him—some might have even booed him. But this time the Chelsea fans did none of that. Instead they waited patiently and each time he took the field they cheered him on. It was a class act from the Chelsea fans who cheered on the Spaniard and waited expectantly for that goal when the chances of him scoring it seemed more and more unlikely.
Then against West Ham, their support finally paid off as Torres finished past Robert Green, in style, to get his Chelsea account up and running.
Considering it was his first Chelsea goal, there was no better way to score. He showed his lighting pace to sneak in between two West Ham defenders and when the ball got held up in some standing water you thought the chance was lost, but he did beautifully to turn it around and fire a pile driver into the left corner. Unstoppable!!
Many had felt that he had lost all the skills that made him such a talent. But the goal against West Ham showed that the skill was always there. He was just struggling to adapt, and now that he has finally opened his account, Chelsea fans can brace themselves for some great football from the mercurial Spaniard.
The key for him will be to build on this goal and continue forward. With his confidence hopefully restored, this should be no problem for the Spaniard.
Years from now, when he hopefully becomes a Premier League legend, people will look back at his drought as a mere blip on the horizon.
Fernando Torres’ goal confirmed one thing for all of us: Form may be temporary but class remains permanent.
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