LONDON – Kenny Dalglish refused to revel in revenge over Fernando Torres as Liverpool spoiled the Chelsea striker’s debut with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Torres ignored Dalglish’s pleas to remain at Anfield as he handed in a transfer request in a successful attempt to force through a British record 50 million pound transfer last week.
The Spaniard believes Liverpool are a club in transition and he jumped at the chance to join Chelsea because he sees the Blues as serious contenders for silverware. As an Anfield legend who has won every major trophy during his time as a player and manager on Merseyside, Dalglish was inevitably frustrated to see Torres lose faith with Liverpool.
The Reds boss could easily have gloried in the way his tactical gameplan frustrated Torres, leading to the striker’s 66th-minute substition following a lacklustre display on Sunday. But instead Dalglish insisted his team were just focused on continuing their recent resurgence rather than stopping Torres.
“The players approached it professionally. I don’t think it was any incentive, whatever someone else wants to do with their life is entirely their choice,” Dalglish said. “I came here to get three points, whether Carlo Ancelotti was playing up front or anyone else doesn’t matter.
“He (Torres) had one shot on target when Jamie Carragher did a fantastic block tackle but I’m not here to talk any somebody else’s players. “I’ve always said the most important people to me are the people at Liverpool Football Club. We’ve got four clean-sheets in a row and 12 points, so I think anyone who is a Liverpool fan is very happy at the moment.”
