After 734 minutes, Fernando
Torres finally scores his first
goal for Chelsea since £50m
move from Liverpool
On a rainy day in London, the
Spaniard ended his goal drought
with a composed finish to
complete a 2-0 victory over
West Ham and lift the roof off
Stamford Bridge
By Steven Saunders
Apr 23, 2011 7:22:00 PM
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Fernando Torres has scored his first
goal for Chelsea. He struck in the
84th against West Ham United at
Stamford Bridge, turning sharply in
the box to swivel and shoot low into
the left corner of Robert Green's
goal.
Chelsea won the game 3-0, after
Frank Lampard opened the scoring
in the first half and then Florent
Malouda completed the scoring in
stoppage time, with Torres
providing the assist.
It brings to an end a sorry spell for
the Spaniard, who had also failed to
score for his country since moving
to Chelsea from Liverpool in a £50
million deadline day move in
January.
Here Goal.com recounts each of
the games that Torres failed to score
in for his new club - and also the
moment that the drought ended...
February 6
v Liverpool (h)
Player rating: 5.5
Not a day of destiny for the new
boy in blue. His 65th minute
substitution, to chants of 'You
should have stayed at a big club',
would have been an
embarrassment for the Spaniard. He
came to life when presented with
two reasonable chances but he was
handled well by his former team-
mates and his arrival seems to
already pose more questions than
answers.
February 14
v Fulham (a)
Player rating: 5.5
A performance that would have
made him look expensive as a £5
million player let alone a £50m one.
His early struggles prompted cries
of "what a waste of money" from
the home fans. Off the pace both on
the ball, his first touch evaded him
when sent through by Luiz at the
end of the first half spoke volumes
for his lack of form. Came close
with a header in the second half but
it was little surprise to see him
substituted for Drogba midway
through the second half.
February 22
v Copenhagen (a)
Player rating: 6.5
He did not score but Chelsea' black-
and-gold away strip brought greater
threat from the Spaniard than their
all-blue home kit. His touch
occasionally let him down but
Copenhagen struggled to cope with
his movement. Came close to
breaking his duck on a number of
occasions but his finishing smacked
of desperation rather than
conviction.
March 1
v Man United (h)
Player rating: 6.0
The first hour generally passed him
by but became more involved
when Drogba came on and Chelsea
had more control of the game. Still
does not look anything like a £50m
striker.
March 7
v Blackpool (a)
Player rating: 5.5
Every time the £50m man got on
the ball the Chelsea fans wondered if
this was the moment he would
score his first goal for the Blues.
That moment didn't come, he's still
lacking sharpness in front of goal
and had no semblance of a
partnership with Drogba.
March 16
v Copenhagen (h)
Player rating: 6.5
Brought some zest and energy to a
lacklustre Chelsea following his 68th
minute introduction but did not get
the gilt-edged opportunity to break
his duck that he would have craved.
March 20
v Manchester City (h)
Player rating: 5.5
On his 27th birthday, there was little
sign that the landmark had provided
closure on the most frustrating 12
months of his professional career.
Given little space to run at the City
defence, he tried hard but struggled
to conjure openings and his touch
was hit-and-miss. Got a standing
ovation when he was subbed with
19 minutes left.
April 2
v Stoke City (a)
Player rating: 5.0
Thrown on in 61st minute but £50
million man was nowhere again.
Any chance of a refund?
April 6
v Man United (h)
Player rating: 6.0
The £50m man started sharply but
was once again frustrated and has
now gone nine games for Chelsea
without a goal. Super header in the
second half was kept out by Van
der Sar.
April 9
v Wigan (h)
Player rating: 7.0
Everything but the goal for the
Spaniard in a lively cameo as he
came the closest yet to breaking his
Chelsea duck. Failed to make the
most of a string of half-chances
before his powerful toe-poked shot
was saved brilliantly by Al Habsi late
on.
April 12
v Man United (a)
Player rating: 3.0
Glanced one header wide - and that
was the only contribution of note
from the British record signing
before he was hauled off at half-
time. Appeared to lack strength,
technique, awareness or an eye for
goal - all the ingredients that made
Chelsea value him at £50m.
April 16
v West Brom (a)
Player rating: 6.0
Replaced Drogba with 10 minutes to
go and was judged offside with his
first touch before hitting the back of
the net, only to again be judged,
and this time perhaps unfairly,
offside. Frustration summed up his
Chelsea career thus far, and
provided a moment of comedy by
swiping away at the ball and hitting
air.
April 20
v Birmingham (h)
Player rating: 5.5
More of the same from the
Spaniard. Offside and sloppy in
possession too many times and
was outshone by the man who
came on at the same time, Nicolas
Anelka.
April 23
v West Ham (h)
Player rating: 8.0
The £50m striker's Chelsea career
got up and running as he finally
broke his scoring duck in front of
the Matthew Harding stand with a
clinical finish to wrap up the three
points. He also played a hand in the
third goal which Malouda thundered
home.
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