In his praise for Fernando Torres’s display against Manchester City, Jose Mourinho said it was made all the better for the fact the striker did not allow an early miss to affect him and continued on to create one goal and then score the last-gasp winner.
Torres too, speaking after Sunday’s 2-1 win, discussed his change in fortunes. But it wasn’t just his part in the goals that caught the eye. As well as one tremendous effort that hit woodwork, the Spaniard caused Manuel Pellegrini’s side problems throughout, adding to his two-goal haul against Schalke the previous game.
‘Sometimes the most important thing about a miss is to forget about it and carry on,’ Torres said, ‘and I was really happy to create this chance for Andre [Schurrle] to score his goal to make it 1-0 straight after this miss.
‘The next action I hit the crossbar so I was feeling well and at the end I could score that late goal and forget the chance I missed in the first half, so it was a very positive goal for everyone.’
On the late winner when a mix-up at the back by Man City allowed him to win a race to put the ball into an unguarded net, Torres said:
‘I used to have a team-mate who told me every ball can be the most important ball of the game, and this is a clear example, a long ball and a misunderstanding and you have the ball to pass into the net.
‘Belief is the key and sometimes goals are going to be great goals but sometimes goals are coming from small mistakes like this. If I didn’t run for that ball I would not be able to score that goal, so the team has to show that belief from the first minute to the last every game.
‘I think we controlled the game most of the time and created the more chances, especially in the first half, but Man City have great players like Aguero who can score a goal at any time but in the end we won a game we deserved to win, and we are happy because it is our first win against one of the contenders for the Premier League title.’
Torres also had words on his own form at the moment and also for the Chelsea fans who Mourinho said played an important part in the striker’s recovery from the early miss.
‘I am feeling good and with high confidence, and feeling better in the system we are playing with more space,’ he said.
‘Hopefully we can keep improving as a team as it is just the beginning of the season and important games are coming.
‘I felt the support for all the past and I am really happy for the fans, they can enjoy now with the team and with my goals and sometimes I feel they are even more happy with them than me, and hopefully they can see more of this this season.’
– A clip of Jose Mourinho and Fernando Torres talking to Chelsea TV after the game can be viewed above with the full interviews available now via the channel’s online access.