Six reasons why Torres can be fondly remembered by Chelsea fans

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Fernando Torres, now officially no longer a Chelsea player, will be mainly remembered as a £50m flop; a once great striker who lost his pace, form and appetite. But there were some memorable highs during his three-and-a-half years at the Bridge too. Here are six reasons to fondly remember Fernando.

1. THAT goal at Camp Nou, April 2012.
The Ramires goal apart, pretty much 90-plus minutes of pure footballing pain was followed by a few seconds of ecstasy. A desperate punt upfield to clear another Barca attack saw Torres one-on-one – and what a finish to send Chelsea into the Champions League final.

2. Stunning strike against Newcastle, August 2012
A brilliant first-time outside-of-the-foot finish in the win over Newcastle three games in to the 2012-13 season. That was followed up with an opportunist goal in the 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates – his fifth goal by the end of September – and gave a little bit of hope that he may yet come good.

3. Europa League opener against Benfica, May 2013
Petr Cech bowls the ball forward, a fully-focused Fernando gets the better of Ezequiel Garay and Luisao, races through on goal, rounds keeper Artur and finds the back of the net to set Chelsea on their way to Europa League glory. Easy. Now why didn’t he always do that?

4. Winner against Everton, May 2013
Scored the goal that secured third place in the Premier League and ensured Champions League football for the following season. But although it was one of 28 goals he scored for club and country that season, it was his first in the Premier League in 2013 – a barren run of nearly five months.

5. Makes one scores one against Manchester City, October 2013
A starring role in a satisfying win over the champions-elect. Fernando was in full flight with a turn of pace that shocked everyone to tee up Andre Schurrle’s opener. And of course he got the winner with a simple tap in after a horrendous goalkeeping error by England number one Joe Hart. But it was all too rare.

6. He stopped scoring against Chelsea for Liverpool.

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