Torres, though, understands patience can be a virtue. “I am still waiting for a major trophy at club level, and I want one, but I am still young – I am just 25,” he says. “I was talking with Carles Puyol at Barcelona some years ago and he said he was 23-24 at Barcelona and hadn’t won a single trophy, but now he has plenty of them.

“Puyol told me to be patient, he said that you are at a massive club and you will win trophies eventually. I don’t know if it will be soon, but if you have patience and you keep thinking that you can do it then it definitely will arrive.”

Should Torres, as expected, start at Chelsea tomorrow, it will be only his second-ever appearance at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool have visited the Londoners five times since the striker’s arrival, but injury has meant he has played only the Champions League semi-final second leg defeat in 2008, a game in which Torres scored.

And he says: “Last season we won at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford because we really believed in ourselves and played as a team. We have to do the same.

“If you can beat Chelsea away then you know you can beat any team in England and in Europe. We need to win these kind of games to be stronger.”

Torres has now scored a remarkable 46 times in 64 Premier League appearances, and for those defenders hoping for some respite, the striker has a gloomy message.

“I have to play better this season,” he says. “I always think I can play better, whether I’ve scored two or three goals or not. A player should always think about how he can improve.

“I want to be in the top goalscorers list this season and I want Liverpool to finish at the top of the league this season.

“It hasn’t been difficult for me to live up to the expectation, even though I have done well in my first two seasons in England. I know that creates more expectation, but I always want to do better than the season before.”