Torres strikes sink league leaders

Liverpool continued to climb the Premiership table with a 2-0 win over league leaders Chelsea, inspired by two quality goals from Fernando Torres.  For Liverpool, this was their third straight league win and their fourth consecutive win in all competitions, and lifts them to ninth in the table.  They now sit within striking distance of a European spot.  For Chelsea, it was only their second loss of the league season and narrows their lead at the top of the table to two points.

It was a win built on hard work, dogged defence and - above all - the quality finishing of Fernando Torres.  For sure, Liverpool benefitted from the absence of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, but their own midfielders worked prodigiously hard to shut Chelsea out of the game - none harder than Lucas Leiva.  Pepe Reina was a spectator in the first half, but made two important stops in the second half to keep his goal intact.  The return of Dirk Kuyt added a creative edge in attack, and it was Kuyt who's probing pass found Torres on 11 minutes for the opener.

The last word goes to Roy Hodgson, on that man Torres...

We were all in a situation wondering what the future would be during the takeover but, like myself, he can see a positive future here," 
"He likes being at Liverpool and playing for Liverpool. I don't have any fears for the future as far as he's concerned, as long as we can get back close to the top of the table where Liverpool belong.
"On this form, his performance was right up there with his best, it was an excellent performance. Fernando Torres is a vital player for Liverpool; he would be for any club. You can't have success without players doing that job for you up front."