TORRES SUPPORTS MEIRELES

The Chelsea striker Fernando Torres and the Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas have come out in support of the Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles, who has been accused of spitting the referee and making hand gestures indicating the sexuality of the referee.

The 30-year-old Portuguese midfielder was recently sent off in the 2-1 victory for Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce were taking on their arch rivals Galatasaray and it was the first time Raul Meireles was taking part in this fierce derby. He had completed his £ 10 million move from Chelsea only in the summer. This was his first sending-off in the career after he received his marching orders following a second yellow card.
The referee Halis Özkahya, meanwhile, has accused the midfielder of making hand gestures indicating his sexuality.

Even though the midfielder has vehemently denied such allegations, it is expected that he will be facing trial over the incident. Meanwhile, the Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who played with him at Chelsea and Liverpool, has said that he knows Meireles very well and he is not the type of individual to make gestures about someone’s sexual preferences. The same comments were also said by the Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, who was instrumental in bringing the player to Stamford Bridge.

“I know Raul from Liverpool and Chelsea, he’s never been sent off before, it’s a real surprise to hear he received a red card. I’ve looked over the highlights and I’m certain Raul didn’t spit at the referee or anyone else. I know him very well on and off the field, there’s no way I can believe he would spit at the referee or make homophobic gestures,” said Torres. Raul Meireles has been one of the important players for Galatasaray since signing from Chelsea. He has so far made 18 appearances for the Turkish club since moving in the summer.

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TORRES CERTAIN ON FUTURE

The Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has said that he is finally feeling certain that Stamford Bridge after a difficult start to his Chelsea career. The Spaniard moved from Liverpool back in the January transfer window of 2010 for record transfer fee of £ 50 million.

However, he has been a major disappointment since his move because he has been able to score only a fraction of goals he scored at Liverpool. He was completely under the shadow of the striker Didier Drogba, who recently left the club in the summer. As a result, Torres has been the main striker at the club this season.

He has now said that he is feeling that he has finally settled at the club after making it difficult start to the life in West London. Torres managed to help Chelsea win the Champions League and the FA Cup double last season, but he has already stated that he does not have a lot of enjoyment from having lifted these two trophies because he did not contribute a lot to the team. The striker may not have scored goals at the same rate as he did at Liverpool, but he has already got seven goals this season.

“Football is a team sport and not an individual sport. If Chelsea win the Champions League, everyone is a better, more recognised player, but if you win an individual award and nothing with your team, it means nothing. You have to win with the team, and for the team. In your life you go through a difficult situation or a very good situation and you have different moods, but you learn things from your experiences,” said Torres ahead of the match with West Brom during the weekend. Chelsea are currently third in the Premier league after the slight dip in form recently.

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SPOILS SHARED

Fernando Torres’ club Chelsea didn’t quite manage to sneak a victory in its opening Champions League match against Juventus. Both the teams scored two goals each and the match finished in the form of a draw.

According to Chelsea news, Robert Di Matteo’s boys were off to a blistering start in the match and Chelsea was ahead by 2-0 at one point of time, but, the Chelsea players were a bit casual in their approach in the second half which allowed Juventus to come back into the game. Roberto Di Matteo would have been disappointed with the way his team lost the advantage. But, the credit should also be given to the Juventus boys who grabbed each and every opportunity that came their way.

The Chelsea midfielder, Oscar, was in amazing form in the match and he scored both the goals for his team. Chelsea took the lead in the 31st minute of the match. Eden Hazard was the one who set up the goal for Oscar and the Brazilian midfielder beat Gianluigi Buffon, the goal keeper of Juventus, with a terrific shot from a distance of 25 yards. It was Oscar again who doubled the lead of Chelsea just two minutes later. The second goal was set up by Ashley Cole who gave Oscar a decent pass. But, Oscar had to get rid of a Juventus defender to enter the penalty box. He did that superbly and beat Buffon with a powerful shot. The ball flew into the top corner of the net and Chelsea got ahead by 2-0 in the match.

Juventus managed to reduce the lead in the 38th minute with the goal of Arturo Vidal. It was a great effort by the Chilean. He got the ball outside the penalty box and he got rid of two Chelsea defenders and then, played a left footed shot to flatten the Chelsea goalie. Chelsea was able to maintain the lead till the 80th minute and it seemed that Roberto De Matteo’s team was on his way to start the Champions League with a victory. But, that didn’t happen and Fabio Quagliarella scored the equaliser towards the end of the match.

Chelsea didn’t manage to get ahead again in the remaining time and got only one point. Chelsea will now take on Stoke City on 22nd of September in a Premier League match.

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TORRES WILL EMULATE DROGBA

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has said that his main ambition would be to emulate the success that the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba achieved at the club. The Ivory Coast international arrived at the club in 2004 for a transfer fee of just £ 24 million, while Fernando Torres arrived in 2011 for more than double the fee paid for Drogba.

However, Drogba has become part of the Chelsea’s history in the best possible way after helping the club win numerous titles in the last eight years. He has been an irreplaceable part of the Chelsea team in the last eight seasons.

He recently decided to bring an end to his stay at Chelsea by signing for the Chinese club in Shanghai Shenhua as a free agent. This has meant that Fernando Torres is the main striker at Stamford Bridge. It is a position that he would have been expecting upon his arrival as a £ 50 million signing in 2011. However, he has had to play second fiddle to draw up until now, but the Spaniard has said that his main objective is to overcome the achievements of the Ivory Coast international. Didier Drogba has won every major trophy that is available as a Chelsea player.

“I am looking forward to it. I like the responsibility and it’s a thing I’ve been doing all my life. I think Didier did everything for this club. Scoring the winning goal in the Champions League was an inspiration for us. Our relationship was great and I was talking to him when he decided to leave. He wished me all the best and hopefully one day Chelsea fans will remember me as they are going to remember him,” said Fernando Torres on the official website of the club. Torres has been disappointing since his arrival, but there are signs of revival.

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NO PROBLEMS FROM TORRES

Benfica manager Jorge Jesus has said that he believes that Chelsea striker Fernando Torres will not cause Portugal as many problems as Cesc Fabregas, who has been used as the false striker in many matches in the Euro 2012 by the Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque.

Portugal will be taking on Spain in the first semi-final knowing that the winner of the tie will be facing either Germany or Italy in the final of the competition. Even though Portugal are not expected to get past the group stages, they have defied expectation by getting to the semifinals of the Euro 2012.

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been in great from in the last two matches for Portugal. He has come under intense criticism for not performing for the national team, but he proved that he is a big game player by turning on the style in the recent two matches. He will be the biggest threat for Portugal, but Chelsea striker Fernando Torres cannot be considered in the same breath according to Benfica manager Jorge Jesus. He believes that Torres will not cause a lot of problems for Portugal due to the fact that he is a regular striker, while Cesc Fabregas as the false striker is much more threatening.

“For Portugal, it would be better if Fernando Torres plays. I understand Del Bosque’s decision to play Fabregas up front. Hopefully he will play Torres again in the semi-finals, because that would be easier for Portugal. Fabregas tries to find space all over the pitch and is everywhere. He helps Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta and his running is very confusing for a defence. It’s much easier to mark Torres as a clear striker. I, too, would play with Cesc,” said Benfica manager Jorge Jesus to Spanish paper Marca.

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PARDEW BACKS TORRES

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew said that he is hoping that the recovery in form Fernando Torres has been showing in recent weeks will not be displayed when his side take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

It is highly crucial match for Newcastle given that they come on the back of a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Wigan during the weekend. It has dented their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League this season, but they can still recover from the defeat provided they put in a good performance against Chelsea.

Fernando Torres looked like his old self in the match against QPR during the weekend. The striker bagged his first hat-trick in almost 3 years in order to continue his recovery from the goal drought he has suffered since arriving at Chelsea. The £ 50 million striker has scored seven goals in his last 11 appearances for Chelsea including the crucial goal against Barcelona during the week. Torres seemed a different player against QPR mainly because of the confidence he got from the goal against Barcelona. However, Alan Pardew is just hoping that Torres will be having an off day when the two sides meet each other.

“Listen, great players very rarely are down for long. I am pleased for him personally. I have been to a few games where I have seen him suffer, and don’t think as professionals you want to see that from a fellow professional. He looks like he’s got a nice smile on his face – I just hope he isn’t smiling on Wednesday,” Pardew said ahead of the match. Newcastle slipped into the fifth position after the weekend defeat at the hands of Wigan. Tottenham, their main contenders, will be having an away match against Bolton.

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TORRES GETS NOD FOR CITY MATCH

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he may consider using Fernando Torres instead of Didier Drogba for the crunch match against Manchester City on Monday night.

This is one of the most important match for the London club given that they are trailing Manchester City by huge number of points. Another loss to the Manchester club would mean that they would be trailing by 13 point, which would mean effectively writing off any title hopes. Chelsea faced similar match only a few days ago against Valencia, but came out triumphant in the best possible manner.

One of the main reasons for the 3-0 win over Valencia was Didier Drogba, who looked back to his old self. Drogba scored two goals and set up the other for Ramires, as Chelsea ran back the years. Drogba has been vital for Chelsea ever since signing from Marseille for £ 24 million, but the arrival of Fernando Torres for £ 50 million looked like questioning him. However, the Ivory Coast striker has responded to this challenge by returning to great form just at the right time for Chelsea. He scored in the 3-0 win over Newcastle United, and continued that performance with the impressive one against Valencia.

However, Villas-Boas said there is little separating Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba at the moment. “At the moment, Didier has had his run. Fernando has had his run in the past. It doesn’t mean that we don’t trust his abilities. By the way he’s training, he’s nearer to competing with Didier every time. They are very, very near each other and, again, it’s just for me to decide what’s best for the team,” said Villas-Boas. A win for Chelsea would help them propel past Tottenham in the table into the third position.

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