During his three-and-a-half-year spell at Anfield, Fernando Torres quickly won over the heart of every Liverpool supporter thanks to his creative talent and, more importantly, his ability to find the net on a regular basis. The £20m fee that brought him from Atletico Madrid to Merseyside may have weighed heavily on his shoulders, but 81 goals in 142 appearances suggests that he managed the pressure just fine.
Many Reds supporters may now have a different opinion entirely when asked about the Spanish striker, of course, following his controversial decision to jump ship in 2011 when sealing a then-British record move to Chelsea. Things, it is fair to say, did not go quite to plan in West London for the once-prolific marksman, who struggled to find top form across his 43 months at the club.
At one stage during his more-successful Liverpool spell, questions were also being asked of the European and World Cup winner. Two goals in 10 league games was hardly the finest way to begin the 2010-11 season - a campaign that would ultimately end with his switch to fellow Premier League heavyweights Chelsea in the mid-season window.
Yet any questions over Torres's ability to spearhead the Reds' potential push for a top-four spot in the Premier League were answered, ironically enough, against his future employers on this day five years ago. That disappointing run of form was soon forgotten about when doubling his personal tally for the campaign to down the defending champions.
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Many had put the striker's lack of form and fitness down to his exploits at that summer's World Cup finals, in which he played an integral part for eventual winners Spain by acting largely as a decoy for many of his attacking teammates. The workload certainly seemed to take its toll but, minus midfield pair Michael Essien and Frank Lampard, Chelsea struggled to prevent Torres from having things his own way on this particular day.
Not since April in the season prior had Torres struck twice in a single game for his club, yet this 2-0 victory also marked an upturn in fortunes for Liverpool themselves, who had now won three on the bounce to climb into the top half of the table for the first time since the opening weekend.
It took the Merseyside outfit's star asset just 11 minutes to get off the mark as some nice build-up play, culminating in Dirk Kuyt lofting one over Chelsea's stagnant defence, resulted in Torres taking one touch to control the pass and another to casually lift the ball over Petr Cech in the away team's goal.
Up the other end of the field, Pepe Reina was a mere spectator for the majority of the first half, and his side had a second to show for their efforts when another moment of Torres magic of old again exposed the frailties in Carlo Ancelotti's squad. Picking up the ball inside the box, the former Atletico forward was allowed to work the ball inside before curling one beyond a stationary Cech.
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That strike made it seven goals in eight games against the West Londoners, and was perhaps the goal that made the Blues realise that they had to land the player if they were to regain their title - no matter what the price. Both Ramires and Yuri Zhirkov came close to pulling one back for Chelsea, while Nicolas Anelka also struck the bar as the late response continued.
"It's been difficult but I'm improving," Torres told reporters after the game when asked about his start to the season. "I don't know if I can play my best soon but I will as soon as possible. It was a tough end to [last] season for me, difficult in the World Cup, I had a lot of injuries, it was difficult training every day.
"Every game I am feeling better, improving every day. It's part of a footballer's life being criticised. Playing for a team like Liverpool, everyone is watching everything you are doing around the world a minute later. I know the expectations, I am ready to fight and get my form."
Liverpool were able to hold out for the comfortable enough win in the end, signalling the start of what they hoped would be a real push for the top four following a poor start to life under Roy Hodgson. Things did not turn out that way, however, and come January the under-fire boss was on his way.
Just a few weeks later Torres followed the now-England manager out of Anfield, joining Chelsea in one of the Premier League's biggest ever deals. The 31-year-old, now back plying his trade in Spain, can point to numerous winners' medals - including success in the Champions League - to underline why making the switch was ultimately the right choice.
Torres would never fully live up to the hype that followed him south to Stamford Bridge, though, with evenings like the one witnessed at Anfield in 2010 now sadly a thing of the past.
Daniel Lewis
