Roughhouse tactics won’t stop Fernando Torres

Sep 28 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ has told Premier League defenders they are wasting their time using roughhouse tactics to unsettle Fernando Torres.

The Liverpool striker came in for some severe treatment from Reading centre-backs Andre Bikey and Michael Duberry in the Carling Cup clash on Tuesday night.

Torres, though, refused to hide and had the last laugh by scoring a memorable first hat-trick following his club record £18million transfer from Atletico Madrid.

There had been questions over whether the 23-year-old could prosper in the England after learning his trade in the Spanish La Liga. But Benitez believes the striker delivered an emphatic answer with his performance at the Madejski Stadium in midweek.

“We always knew that Fernando could cope with the physical nature of English football,” said the Liverpool manager. “In Spain, he would have to fight against two defenders up front on his own.

“In England it’s more physical – especially the other day – and to see him trying to win every ball and working hard was a positive for me. I never had any doubts he’d be able to cope, because we knew him as a player.”

Like Anfield skipper Steven Gerrard, Benitez was upset with some of the challenges on Torres referee Martin Atkinson allowed to go unpunished.

And the Liverpool manager added: “I think there should be more protection for quality players. The other day, Torres was under pressure every minute. We need to protect these players. The first tackle he received he was injured from, he had a problem with his ankle.

“Okay, he was fine by the end, but he could have easily been out for one month. We should talk about that more than whether he is playing or not. Everybody who was watching could see it, every tackle was very clear. We should protect all the players, but especially ones with quality. How can you stop these players? By kicking them sometimes.”

Benitez continues to be coy over whether Torres will retain his starting place for tomorrow’s visit to Wigan.

Liverpool have been knocked off the top of the Premier League by Arsenal after drawing their last two league outings against Portsmouth and Birmingham City. And defender Sami Hyypia, who is poised to return after being rested on Tuesday, said: “It is very important we get back to winning ways in the league after a couple of draws. We haven’t been beaten in the league yet but if you have too many draws it’s not so good.

“It’s important not to lose too much ground on Arsenal, and Manchester United have been playing well recently too.”