Torres has confidence back – Blues boss

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas declared that Fernando Torres’ confidence has finally been restored after the Spaniard’s superb Champions League display against Genk.

Torres, much maligned since his £50m move from Liverpool earlier this year, scored twice and looked back to his brilliant best as the Blues crushed their Belgian opponents 5-0. 

He has been serving a three-match domestic ban but Villas-Boas opted to restore him to the starting line-up – partly in order to maintain Torres’ match fitness.

The striker responded with his first European goals for the Blues and in all competitions has now scored four times in as many matches for them.

“It was never a question of Fernando not being in form,” said Villas-Boas. “It’s just important for players to feel confident, and he’s feeling confident in his abilities now.

“It would have been a long period off [had Torres not played] and we are able to choose from the best up front.

“But the choice fell with Fernando and he responded well. But I was pleased with the whole team’s performance.”

Wednesday’s win left Chelsea top of Group E and on course to reach the next stage of the tournament at a canter.

But Villas-Boas is taking nothing for granted and insisted that qualification is still far from certain.

He said: “The group could still become very tight depending upon what happens when Leverkusen play Valencia. We will need to be focused on gaining a result against Genk in Belgium.”