Defending Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and his performance against Birmingham
Liverpool’s ace striker Fernando Torres was the target of some very heavy criticism following his under par performance against Birmingham at the weekend that resulted in two more dropped points for the Merseyside outfit.
There is not much to defend about the striker’s performance or suggest that he was great on the day but just to blame the sublimely talented striker is a bit unfair as there were a variety of circumstances that led to a poor show by the Spaniard.
El Nino suffered because the service to the strikers from the midfield was very poor. El Nino works on the simple principle of receiving balls in space from over the top of the defenders so that he can use his blistering pace, but on Sunday, any such balls
were nonexistent.
Another key factor for the low key performance by the Spaniard was the very obvious lack of match fitness. There is no denying the fact that the striker is light years short of his peak condition as compared to what is demanded from him week in, week out
in the Premier League. Torres was plagued by a groin and knee injury in the recent past which is why he had to go under the knife last season.
Torres is still working his way back to full match fitness and his best shape when his pace alone is enough to torment the best of defenders.
In the game on Sunday, Birmingham had a plan where they defended deep into their own half and were able to nullify any attacking threats by the visitors, who were miserably short of any creative ideas. Whereas Bolton did the opposite against Arsenal on the
weekend and defended high up the pitch and were torn apart by the menacing pace and sharpness of the Gunners.
One fact worth mentioning here is that in terms of overall contribution to the game, Torres has never been the heart of play since arriving at the club. He does not get involved in the build-up play very often and relies on his instinctive goal scoring capabilities.
If Liverpool fans are expecting contributions in the link up play, then they may be looking for a long while as Torres is not the kind. He bursts into life when he senses a goal scoring opportunity.
All Torres needs to do is to keep playing so that he can return to full match fitness but at the same time, Roy Hodgson also needs to make sure that the service from the midfield to the strikers is good enough for him to feed on it.
Liverpool are looking for something that will spark Nando into life and the spark might come on the weekend when the Reds from Liverpool take on their bitterest foes at Old Trafford.
Nemanja Vidic is the lynchpin of Manchester United’s defence and was magnificent towards the later part of last season and has started this season in impressive form as well. However, facing Torres is his biggest nightmare as El Nino embarrassed the Serbian
on more occasions than one last season.
It’s a two-way street as Torres will remember his successes against Vidic while Vidic will remember his failures against the Spaniard and the contest at lunchtime on Sunday may prove to be the defining moment for his form this season.
If Torres gets the better of the Serbian once again and finds his goal scoring boots, it may just provide the striker the boost he needs and the confidence of a victory against Manchester United may just kick start Liverpool’s season.
But to witness that we have to wait till Sunday and before that Liverpool have a Europa League clash to take care of and another appalling display by El Nino might just hamper his confidence going into Sunday’s game.
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