Jose Mourinho has backed Fernando Torres despite dropping the Spaniard for Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United.
Mourinho opted to play Andre Schurrle up front at Old Trafford and brought on Torres after an hour.
And the Blues boss insisted he was pleased with the forward’s contribution after he came off the bench.
“He is doing his job and he did again,” said Mourinho.
“He worked hard for the team. It was not a game where we did produce a lot for him to have many scoring situations but he did a job and I am happy with Fernando, no problem.”
Torres has endured difficult spells at Chelsea since being signed from Liverpool for £50m – a price tag which put him under huge pressure to perform.
But Mourinho believes Torres’ vital goals last season mean he has repaid the club.
Mourinho said: “If you like the numbers like the £50m, he scored the goal that won the Europa League, so that is some millions.
“He also scored the goal against Everton that put Chelsea in the Champions League. So it is not really £50m – maybe it is £20m now.”
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This post was last modified on 27/08/2013