Rafael Benitez feels an in-form Fernando Torres could make the difference to Liverpool's title hopes.
The Reds' form has been patchy of late and they have been looking towards their star striker to reinstate their title credentials.
Torres has struggled to put the Merseysiders back on track as his gradual return to match fitness has coincided with draws against Wigan and Everton, seeing them slip from top to third in the league.
But Liverpool returned to winning ways on Sunday by beating rivals Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield.
El Nino was the star of the show as his late brace ensured the Reds kept in touch with league leaders Manchester United, while opening up a three-point gap between them and Phil Scolari's men.
With Robbie Keane set to complete a dramatic return to Spurs on transfer deadline day, Benitez appears to be pinning all his hopes on the Spanish striker to shoot Liverpool towards glory in May.
The Reds boss said: "Fernando has not had the match fitness he needs. Of course he can score goals, but he needed to be up to the right fitness level to do it. Now he has almost got there and you can see what he can do.
"But you can see the quality he has to score very important goals, and that will be really important for us now as the season comes to a conclusion.
"He is coming back to his best in every single game, you can see that quality returning for him all the time little by little.
"It was important for the team and also for him to see Fernando score.
"It's very important for the rest of the season and to see Fernando back with two goals."
Torres has now scored seven goals now in 13 league appearances, and is hungry for more as Liverpool try to rein in United's lead at the top, which could be stretched to five points if the Red Devils win their game in hand at home to Fulham.
Torres said: "The two goals against Chelsea were very important for me because they were my first goals after the injuries and we will all have more confidence after this.
"It is fantastic for me to score at home, and against Chelsea. It has been very frustrating not to be able to play. I am very happy, but more for the result."
0 comments:
Post a Comment