From the Guardian...
Four things we learned from watching Chelsea v Liverpool
Fernando Torres can't just flick a switch, Jamie Carragher remains immense, Liverpool under Dalglish are playing with real conviction and other observations
1) Fernando Torres will need time
Fernando Torres was right: the romance in football really has gone. The scriptwriters – albeit those from London rather than Merseyside – had hopefully pencilled him in for a goalscoring debut against his former club to provide an instant and poignant return on Chelsea's £50m investment. The hope had been that the eye-catching move south would coax out the form that had initially scorched the Premier League but had been absent for too long over his last year as a Liverpool player. That was clearly too much to ask. There is no sentiment to be had in occasions such as these. Torres may well have been refreshed by his British record transfer, but the sluggish form that had dogged him at Liverpool pursued him to south-west London with Jamie Carragher expertly snuffing out his only real sight of goal. He retired to chants of "You should have stayed at a big club" spat from the visiting support, his expression unmoved when Raul Meireles plundered the decisive goal only three minutes later. He will need time to adjust to new surroundings.
2) Liverpool have conjured momentum under Kenny Dalglish
Liverpool are sixth this evening, six points behind Chelsea in the fourth Champions League place, but conviction is flooding back into their campaign. Kenny Dalglish, the memory of defeat at Blackpool in his first league game back in charge long forgotten, is inspiring a fine recovery with this a fourth consecutive success. He has restored confidence throughout this club and, even after adopting a new system in his last two games – a 1990s throwback to three centre-halves – is eking the best out of this squad. This felt like a makeshift team still waiting to accommodate their own record signings, Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll, but it was still the more fluent of the two sides on show. Raul Meireles has worked tirelessly and is suddenly prolific. Glen Johnson is operating effectively on the left. Strength and poise is returning to Martin Skrtel's game. Martin Kelly is an international full-back in waiting. The presence of Dalglish barking orders from the technical area is serving to inspire.
3) Jamie Carragher's influence merely grows
The centre-half was a critical loss to Liverpool while recovering from the shoulder dislocated in defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, but his return for this fixture was wonderfully timely. Any fears the visitors had that Torres, their former team-mate, would return to haunt them were eased when the veteran slid in to suffocate the Spaniard's most presentable opportunity. Carragher, as the right-sided of the three centre-halves, clearly relished his duals with Torres and Didier Drogba, muscling out his opponent as he bellowed orders to those at his side. This was an outstanding display, and a remarkable return to first-team action after merely an appearance on the bench at Stoke in midweek.
4) Chelsea's tactics with Torres in their ranks remain a work in progress
A sense of deja vu dogged the hosts. The diamond formation that had flourished away from home in midweek posed familiar problems here, with this a throwback to the clutter that so stifled Frank Lampard's attacking intent in the opening months of Carlo Ancelotti's tenure. The champions are at their best when splitting wide, either with Florent Malouda or Nicolas Anelka drifting to the flank in a front three and dragging opposing defenders from their comfort zones, with eager midfielders charging forward to flood the area left vacant behind. But against Liverpool, with three all natural centre-forwards in their ranks, and Anelka playing just behind Torres and Drogba, the mass of bodies became impenetrable at times. Only occasionally did Drogba and Torres venture wider, inviting Anelka to rampage through the centre, with each more inclined to seek out the six-yard box. This system may prove more effective away from home, when Chelsea might hope to hit teams more naturally on the break, but it was a source of frustration for long periods here.
