Fernando Torres had a rough match against Sparta and managed to miss all of his chances. If it wasn’t for Hazard’s incredible goal, Chelsea fans would have blamed their loss on the Spaniard, who did not manage to meet expectations yet again. The Belgian midfielder, who came on as a substitute, managed to put the ball in the back of the net during the final seconds of the match, thus avoiding overtime. After the game, Benitez defended Torres, who missed six or seven great chances that could have brought comfort to his team. Chelsea’s coach said that his player did a decent job and that he was of great help to the team as a unit.

Torres has been targeted by both fans and sports writers for his lack of efficiency in front of goal. He struggled throughout the entire season and even lost Chelsea some important matches with his endless streak of missed opportunities. You can clearly see that the Spaniard has not managed to return to the form that made him the Blues’ most expensive player. He finds his way to good positions most of the time, he manages to fight off adversaries, but he loses his concentration when it is time to score.

Benitez said that his player should not be judged only by his goal scoring record and that his contribution to other facets of the game should get a lot more appreciation. Chelsea’s coach said that Torres had a tough time against a team that wanted to defend their result for 70 minutes or so, and that his ability to win the ball in the air was of great use to his teammates.

Torres got a lot of credit from Benitez who is very confident the Spaniard will eventually start scoring goals if he stays dedicated and trains hard. The Spanish striker is currently one of two options for Chelsea’s attack, but his future with the team is clearly uncertain. His value seems to have dropped at an amazing rate since he moved to Stamford Bridge, and it is hard to tell if he will ever manage to return to the form he showed when playing for Liverpool.

The Spanish striker probably would have received the same encouraging review from Benitez even if their team would have gone into overtime. He had a decent game, but one cannot fail to remember all the games in which Torres has failed to score, which is surely the most important ingredient in a great striker’s game.