Improving Torres can put travelling Benfica to the sword
Published:The added freedom Roberto Di Matteo has afforded Fernando Torres at Chelsea has led to his best performances for the club, and after hitting his first Premier League goal in over six months on Saturday, Torres is just 1/1 to outscore Benfica on Wednesday.
An FA Cup brace sparked Torres’ resurgence, and he has now notched three times under Di Matteo, after striking only four times during previous boss Andre Villas-Boas’ entire tenure.
His confident hit from outside the box against Aston Villa over the weekend seemed to be an indication that we had seen a return to the Torres of old, and he is 9/2 second-favourite to get the opener in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Torres will now be determined to end a European goal drought after halting his barren run in both domestic cup and league competition, and Ladbrokes are offering a variety of special markets regarding the 28-year-old.
It is a big 11/1 that Torres outscores the entire Barcelona side come Wednesday, and as Barca failed to find the net in their first leg stalemate with AC Milan, this could be an outcome worth investing in.
Chelsea met a surprisingly lacklustre Benfica side at Estadio da Luz last week, and the Blues look as though they should create plenty of chances at Stamford Bridge, giving Torres ample opportunity to register a first Champions League goal since early in the group stage.
He is also 9/2 to outscore Lionel Messi, and this looks lengthy considering the Argentinian has what would be considered a poor record by his standards against AC Milan.
Messi has struck just once in three games against the Italians this season, and with that goal coming from the penalty spot, a rejuvenated Torres could better the Barca legend’s tally on Wednesday night.
