Source: PA
Carlo: Give Torres time
Manager Carlo Ancelotti maintains it is only a matter of time before Chelsea see the best of £50million striker Fernando Torres - and vowed the champions are not about to give up on the title race.
Torres had been the name on everyone's lips in the build-up to the much-hyped Barclays Premier League clash against former club Liverpool at Stamford Bridge following his British transfer record move from Anfield.
However, it was not to be a dream debut for the Spaniard, who put an early 20-yard effort high into the stands but lacked any real service during an ineffective team performance from the home side, and was eventually replaced by Salomon Kalou after 68 minutes.
Moments later and the Reds fans - who had taken great delight in barracking their former Kop idol throughout the match - were celebrating when Raul Meireles slammed the ball in after a mix-up between Chelsea keeper Petr Cech and Branislav Ivanovic which was enough to secure another victory for Kenny Dalglish's improving side.
Ancelotti, however, sees no reason why deploying Torres, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in a front three should not work as Chelsea battle to overturn a 10-point deficit on Manchester United, who had lost at bottom club Wolves on Saturday.
"We have to give Fernando time to adjust to the shape but I think that he will do it quickly," he said. "We played a fantastic game with this shape at Sunderland and wanted to reproduce that but Liverpool were strong defensively, put strong pressure in their half, and we were not able to find the solution. The problem wasn't that Torres played - he did a good job on the pitch."
