THEY may have been a long time coming, but the first goals by Fernando Torres at Anfield in almost nine months were worth the wait for Liverpool.

And as well as kick-starting the striker’s campaign, yesterday’s brace sent a warning to Manchester United that Rafael Benitez’s side have regained their appetite for a championship challenge.

Given the amount of drawing Liverpool have done lately, it’s almost as if they were offering their own tribute to the recently departed Tony Hart.

And with the game entering its final minute, it appeared the same old story with the Anfield outfit having dominated in terms of possession and chances against a Chelsea team that had been reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour following the controversial dismissal of Frank Lampard.

Enter Torres.

The striker had demonstrated a return to form throughout after a worryingly subdued performance at Wigan Athletic in midweek, and reaped his reward by beating Alex at the near post to head home Fabio Aurelio’s cross from the left.

It had been 15 hours and nine minutes of playing time since Torres had last netted at Anfield when sliding home the only goal against Manchester City back on May 4.

And the home supporters had to wait only a few moments for the Spaniard to score again, Torres side-footing in after substitute Yossi Benayoun harangued Ashley Cole into gifting Liverpool an opening.

So Liverpool have rediscovered the knack of scoring late goals that proved so beneficial earlier in the campaign.

Remarkably, until yesterday Torres had played just 30 minutes in games against Liverpool’s four title challengers this season.

And while Benitez’s side can now claim 11 points from 15 from those meetings against Chelsea, United, Arsenal and Aston Villa, the sight of a fit-again Torres rediscovering his scoring touch – these were his first Premier League goals since October – will have sent an ominous warning to that quartet.

After dropping 14 points in their last 10 games, this was a game Liverpool simply had to win having stuttered so badly since their thrashing of Newcastle United back in December.

Chelsea will point, with some justification, to the harsh sending-off of Lampard for challenge on Xabi Alonso as the turning point of the game.

But Liverpool were already in control before proving a rare beneficiary of Mike Riley’s incompetence. As at Old Trafford last month, Chelsea were insipid going forward; Pepe Reina only had one save to make, and that was in the 75th minute.

Indeed, Chelsea should have ended the game with nine men after Jose Bosingwa thrust his studs into the back of Benayoun as the Israeli attempted to shield the ball by the corner flag during injury time.

Less clear-cut was Lampard’s expulsion, his challenge with Alonso hardly worthy of a yellow card, let alone a red. That Steven Gerrard had escaped with just a ticking-off for a similar lunging challenge on Salomon Kalou only moments earlier further raised the Londoners’ ire.

Of course, there has been plenty of previous between the pair ever since Lampard broke Alonso’s ankle at Anfield on New Year’s Day in 2005.

Lampard became the fourth player to be dismissed against Liverpool this season for a foul on Alonso, following Nemanja Vidic, Tim Cahill and Pablo Zabaleta.

Riley’s apparent intention on making the game a non-contact sport made a red card almost inevitable. And with this the 22nd meeting between the teams since Benitez took charge at Liverpool in June 2004, such familiarity has bred an obvious contempt.

American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were both in attendance yesterday, and it was symbolic of the divisions that still debilitate the Anfield boardroom that the duo positioned themselves at opposite ends of the front row of the directors’ box.

As against Everton in the FA Cup the previous week, there was no place for Robbie Keane on the bench, although the striker was this time present inside Anfield to witness a tense, nervous first half in which Liverpool enjoyed the greater possession and chances.

Alonso, whose deflected goal earned Liverpool their historic win at Stamford Bridge in October, forced Petr Cech into a full-stretch leap to turn over a 25-yard drive.

The Chelsea goalkeeper then spilled a speculative effort from Javier Mascherano only for no Liverpool player to be within 15 yards of the rebound.

Cech was then again relieved when almost losing possession when pressurised by Torres and Albert Riera, while Alex got his body in the way to deny Torres from Jamie Carragher’s right-wing cross.

Chelsea had another fortunate escape three minutes from half-time when Riera’s powerful angled drive was parried by a sprawling Cech and the ball squirmed free, struck the retreating Cole and dropped just wide.

The second half began in the same manner, with Liverpool pressing and Chelsea defending.

Dirk Kuyt looped an effort across the face of goal and, after Mascherano’s header was nodded down by Gerrard, Alex again blocked a Torres shot.

Alvaro Arbeloa tested Cech at his near post seconds after Kuyt ambitiously claimed a penalty after tangling with John Terry, then Alex once more put his body on the line to deflect Alonso’s shot on to the crossbar and John Obi Mikel hacked clear after good work from Torres.

Benitez has attracted plenty of criticism lately for his use of substitutes, but the introduction of Benayoun for Riera added greater guile to Liverpool’s attacking play, and twice the Israeli solicited fine saves from Cech with long-range efforts.

And just when it appeared Chelsea had done enough to hang on, Torres’s double blow moved Liverpool three points clear in second place and back within two points of United.

Those of a superstitious leaning will delight in the fact this was a first league double over the Londoners since 1989-90, the last time Liverpool lifted the championship.

There’s a long way to go before that is settled. But Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari later admitted this result has made the Anfield outfit the main challengers to United’s crown.

And with Torres back in the mood, Liverpool have no excuse not to keep it that way.