Chelsea Boss Villas-boas Defends Torres After Flat Malaysia Performance

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas defended Fernando Torres after his disappointing performance in their victory over Malaysia.

Villas-Boas will be relying on the Spaniard to provide a far greater goalscoring output if he is to enjoy a successful first season in charge and, after Torres struggled in the Blues’ 1-0 win over a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the World Cup winners’ form was already under the microscope.

Responding to questions over Torres after the game, Villas-Boas warned he would not become bogged down by the form of individuals as he looks to make an impact at Stamford Bridge.

“I don’t want to turn Torres into an obsession like you people are trying to do,” he said.

“I am not going to waste time over this. I disagree that he is lacking in confidence.

“Every time a player doesn’t score, I am asked questions about him. I agree that Torres is a £50 million striker but my focus is purely on the performance of the team, not the individual.

“It doesn’t matter who scores. These are pre-season games and they don’t have the importance that some people think.

“The point of these games is to get a feel for your team and achieve your objectives in terms of fitness and training.

“To gain the confidence to find the back of the net, Torres needs training, tolerance and patience.

“It doesn’t look like he is getting this at the moment but we are ready to give our forwards this patience.”

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