Steven Gerrard no longer bears the weight of expection on his shoulders. The Liverpool captain, leader and keeper of the “Get Out of Jail Free Cards” has found someone to share the burden in the shape of El Nino, The Kid. Fernando Torres has adapted to Premiership life at a canter (and a shimmy). His first goal for the club against Chelsea put him on a pedestal. Gerrard’s visionary and perfectly executed through ball sent him away on the left. It didn’t look too dangerous but within seconds, Ben Haim was on his backside and the ball was nestling in the back of the net. Even if Torres never scored another goal for Liverpool, that one was enough to make him a hero.

Luckily, the goals have kept coming. From everywhere, outside the box, headers, one-on-ones, volleys. What is all the more impressive is that the lad makes it look too easy. He doesn’t have to think about where the goal is or what the keeper is doing. For such a lightweight looking player his strength is incredible. (Just a trivial note, his height and weight are exactly the same as that of Cristiano Ronaldo). He is similar to Ronaldo in that he does go to ground fairly easily at times but not as often as the aforementioned.

He arrived from Atletico Madrid (the mattress makers*) where he had played since his childhood. He was a hero there even though his goal tally was relatively poor (the most goals he scored in one season was 19). He suffered from a lack of quality service and, as captain, he often took on many roles during a game to rescue his side. Free from the shackles of responsibility at Anfield and with the consistent supply from Gerrard, Torres is now being allowed to exploit his talent to the fullest.

The question is, will next season be the footballing equivalent of the “difficult second album syndrome” for Torres? It’ll be hard to repeat his achievements but unlike himself, I couldn’t put it past him.

* Atletico are known as the mattress makers due to the similarity between the colours of their kit (red and white stripes) and the cloth that mattresses are wrapped in (also red and white stripes).

(Image from www.liverpoolpies.tv /Getty)

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