Liverpool have had few reasons to smile this season but with Fernando Torres in red hot form and scoring goals for fun, it is not too tough for the Kop to get carried away. The 23-year old Spanish international netted a sensational hat-trick against relegation candidates Middlesbrough in the English Premier League on Saturday and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is brimming with praise for El Nino.
Rafa says:
They made two mistakes and Fernando was there. A good striker must be aware of mistakes.
For a striker, and especially a player in his first year in the Premier League, we are really pleased with him and hopefully he will score more goals.
It is not easy for a foreign player to come into the English league and settle straight away.
But he has done that so well. He has power and pace, he can kill defenders with his pace.
He has proved to be a great signing. Last summer we had 10 names we were considering, then it was down to three. But we went for Fernando because he was hungry and had the style to handle the Premier League.
It is difficult to score 20 goals for anyone in a season, but he has done that well before the end of the campaign. Everything is possible now for him as he progresses in the game here.
Torres’ three goals at Anfield against Middlesbrough was also the reason for Liverpool’s victory at Anfield. Moreover, Torres has now scored over 20 goals for Liverpool in his first season for the Merseyside and also becomes the first Liverpool striker since Michael Owen in 2003 to score more than 20 goals this season.