Torres double ends Ireland's Euro dream

Updated June 15, 2012 08:04:14

A double by Fernando Torres inspired defending champion Spain to a 4-0 thrashing of Ireland on Thursday in their Euro 2012 Group C match and ended Irish hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

For all its endeavour in defence, Ireland struggled constantly to cope with the torrent of Spanish attacks as Torres proved he is back to his best with two clinically-taken goals.

Having decided the Euro 2008 final with the winning goal against Germany, Torres netted either side of David Silva second-half strike before his replacement Cesc Fabregas added the fourth seven minutes from time.

"That is a very good win for us," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said.

"We brought in Torres to score goals, which is what he did and if we stay with this defensive line we will have things easy.

"It will be dangerous to play for the draw against Croatia and we won't play for the draw."

Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews admitted it had been a torrid night.

"We were chasing shadows," he said.

"We said before the match we should learn from our mistakes in the first game but then we shot ourselves in the foot by conceding an early goal.

"Make no mistake they are a top side and we were always up against it.

"In terms of the Italy game we are playing for pride simple as that."

With 66 per cent ball possession, 26 shots on goal, 20 of which were on target, Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given had a busy night as Spain dominated while Ireland managed just six shots on goal in total.

The win puts Spain top of the group on goal difference and level on four points with second-placed Croatia, who Del Bosque's world champions face in Gdansk on Monday.

Spain had complained to UEFA about the dry condition of the Gdansk pitch during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Italy as Fabregas labelled it "a disaster", but heavy rain during Thursday's match made the issue null and void.

Italy has two points in third and can still progress if it beats Ireland in Poland on the same day, but the Azzurri are reliant on either Spain or Croatia winning in Gdansk.

In Thursday's other game, Croatia held Italy to a 1-1 draw in their Group C clash at the Municipal Stadium in Poznan to boost its hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Italy totally dominated the first period and went in at the break a goal to the good through a sumptuous Andrea Pirlo free-kick.

But a defensive error allowed Mario Mandzukic to equalise in the final 20 minutes and keeps Croatia at the top of the group on four points.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said his side not exploit its first half domination.

"When you're on top and playing well you have to kill off the game," he said.

"We know that one cross or a deflection can cancel out everything you've done. You have to close out the game, we need to be more clinical and determined."

Italy now needs to beat Ireland in its final group game and hope that the result in Croatia's game against Spain is kind if it is to progress.

Croatian coach Slaven Bilic said he felt his side are now in a great position to progress to the knock-out stages.

"It was a very good match, I don't want to talk about the next match against Spain, we've got loads of time to analyse everything," he said.

"But I can just say that after two matches we're in a really good situation with four points so I'm very optimistic before the next match."

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer, poland

First posted June 15, 2012 08:01:28

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Torres breaks Chelsea duck at last

Updated April 24, 2011 07:12:00

Fernando Torres finally scored his first goal for Chelsea as the champions beat West Ham United 3-0 to remain six points behind Manchester United after the leaders had beaten Everton 1-0.

The Spaniard came off the bench to score Chelsea's second six minutes from time - his first goal in his 14th appearance for the west London club he joined from Liverpool for 50 million pounds ($76.87 million) in January.

"I have had 14 games waiting for a goal, which was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed for a massive team like this," Torres told the BBC.

"There will be less pressure on me now. Now we can try and finish the season as we all want."

It was a great response by Chelsea in the title race after a late header by Mexico striker Javier Hernandez ended Everton's resistance six minutes from time at Old Trafford and briefly put United nine points ahead.

United, who visit Schalke 04 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, have 73 points to the 67 of Chelsea.

Third-placed Arsenal, which travels to Bolton Wanderers on Sunday, has 64.

Manchester City, which visits Blackburn Rovers on Monday, is fourth on 56 ahead of Tottenham Hotspur with 55 after Spurs could only draw 2-2 at home with West Bromwich Albion.

Sixth-placed Liverpool is now only three points further back after thrashing Birmingham City 5-0 at Anfield, helped by a Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick.

Dire record

Everton was unbeaten in seven league games going into the match at Old Trafford but its record at the ground is dire, with their last win coming in 1992.

It was unable to end that drought on Saturday, although, well-organised and hard-working in defence, the Toffees kept United at arm's length for much of a sweltering afternoon.

United, beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by Manchester City last weekend and held 0-0 at Newcastle United on Tuesday, cranked up the pressure in the last 15 minutes.

They got their reward when Hernandez rose well to meet an Antonio Valencia cross and power in his point-blank header.

United have now won 16 and drawn one of their 17 home league games.

Victories in their next two league matches would secure the title with two games to spare but they are unlikely to be easy - away to Arsenal and at home to Chelsea.

"Today's game was tricky. Everton are very resilient and some of their defending was fantastic," United manager Alex Ferguson told the club's website.

"We had shots blocked near the line, some misses and the goalkeeper made two or three great saves. You say to yourself: 'It's going to be another late one here'. You can just smell the history of the club and so it was to be."

The day's scorching heat was replaced by a thunderstorm for the evening game at Stamford Bridge and for long periods Chelsea struggled to cope with the awkward conditions and some spirited play by its lowly London rivals.

Chelsea grabbed the first goal at the end of the first half when Frank Lampard banged in a low cross from Ashley Cole.

Centre back David Luiz rattled the bar with a 25-metre piledriver before Torres came off the bench in the 76th minute and, eight minutes later, swept in his first goal.

The Spaniard, who was mobbed by every one of his team-mates, then set up Florent Malouda for the third.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said it had been a perfect day.

"Everyone expected Fernando to score and finally he scored and for him from today will be a new life," he told ESPN.

First posted April 24, 2011 05:54:00

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Torres gets off the mark

 Published:Sunday, April 24, 2011 10:31 AEST

Fernando Torres celebrates scoring for Chelsea goal during the English Premier League match against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge in London, on April 23, 2011.

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Chelsea may risk Torres over Drogba

Posted April 23, 2011 07:00:00

Carlo Ancelotti has admitted misfiring striker Fernando Torres could return in place of in-form Didier Drogba for Chelsea's vital London derby against West Ham on Saturday.

Ancelotti's side have been revitalised since the Italian dropped Torres and recalled Drogba, with successive wins over West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham lifting Chelsea back into the title race.

Torres has gone 893 minutes without a goal since his British record transfer from Liverpool, while Drogba's powerful presence has helped Chelsea score six goals in its last two matches.

With Torres in the team, Chelsea slumped tamely out of the Champions League against Manchester United.

But, even though the Blues are only six points behind leaders Manchester United, Ancelotti may bring Torres back against the struggling Hammers.

"Maybe I can use some rotation to maintain the players' freshness," Ancelotti said on Friday.

"It wouldn't be easy to leave Drogba out, but there's a chance we could leave him out on Saturday.

"We started with Torres against (Manchester) City. We won the game when Didier came on.

"It might be a good solution to give him the last 30 minutes of the game because he's fresh and fit."

Chelsea has scored just one goal in its last eight matches while Torres has been on the pitch.

But Ancelotti is unconcerned by statistics and he believes Torres will rediscover his form with the help of his team-mates.

"To score one goal, for him, could be the best medicine. If the players, the team-mates, help him, I'm happy," he said.

"That means there's a good relationship with each other in the squad.

"Everyone has to know that Fernando is the present and the future of this club. We cannot judge now the moment. He will play a lot of games for Chelsea."

Chelsea will be expected to continue its revival against a West Ham side fighting against relegation, but Ancelotti said: "At this stage of the season, every game is difficult.

"It's difficult to prepare, to stay concentrated, but we have to know we'll have a tough game.

"When one teams needs the points to stay up, they will do more than 100 per cent.

"For this reason, we have to be ready. It's a very tough competition, the Premier League, so anything can happen.

"Obviously, I would like to be in United's position, six points ahead. That's a lot at this stage of the season."

- AFP

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Ancelotti defends Torres selection

Posted April 13, 2011 11:47:00

Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to pick Fernando Torres despite another disappointing display from the Spanish striker as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League.

Torres, who has not scored in more than 11 hours of football since joining Chelsea for a record 50 million euros in January, was substituted at half-time as Manchester United powered into the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea veteran Didier Drogba, who replaced Torres at the break, immediately caused problems for United and scored an equaliser which gave the visitors hopes of a dramatic comeback.

As Chelsea's dejected fans were left pondering what might have been had Drogba been picked to start ahead of Torres, Ancelotti was unrepentant.

"I thought a lot of time to take this decision," Ancelotti said.

"I preferred to start with Fernando for this kind of game. But Didier played very well in the second half."

Ancelotti rejected suggestions from Sir Alex Ferguson that it would have been impossible for the Chelsea coach not to pick Torres given the club's record outlay on the player.

"A lot of people thought Drogba would play, but I thought that having signed Torres for the money they did, they had to play him," Ferguson said.

"I wasn't 100 per cent sure. But I couldn't see how they could leave Torres out."

Ancelotti insisted however that Ferguson's comments were wide of the mark.

"This is not true," he said.

"I picked Fernando because I felt his skills and ability could be good for us."

Drogba had been brought on at half-time because Chelsea was chasing the game at 1-0 down, Ancelotti said.

"I wanted to put more pressure on the front," Ancelotti said.

"We needed to score. I felt Didier was fresh and we could use his power in front. This was the reason I took out Fernando."

Ferguson meanwhile said he was convinced Torres would eventually come good for Chelsea, despite his disappointing start at Stamford Bridge, and described the club's signing of the Spaniard as good transfer business.

"I don't think anyone who had the opportunity to sign Torres would have turned it down," Ferguson said.

"Everyone said at the time it was a fantastic bit of business so you can't criticise him for that. It was a good signing.

"It's not working at the moment but he's a young man and there's other seasons ahead."

The game had been billed as make-or-break for Ancelotti, whose position is expected to come under severe pressure after a season that in all probability is now likely to conclude without a trophy.

Ancelotti would not be drawn either on his own future or that of his first team squad, which could be the subject of a summer transfer clear-out.

Asked if a major overhaul of the playing staff was required following Chelsea's failure to reach the Champions League semi-finals for a second year running, Ancelotti replied: "To speak about this now is not the moment.

"We still have eight games in the Premier League, we have to play these games and after that we have the time to speak about this."

Ancelotti also shrugged off questions about his position.

"I'm not concerned. I have to work, I have to try to do my best. It's not my decision whether I stay or don't stay here," he said, revealing that he had not spoken to Russian owner Roman Abramovich after the match.

-AFP

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Torres lines up at Old Trafford

 Published:Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:44 AEST

Chelsea forward Fernando Torres lines up ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford on April 12, 2011.

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