LOOKING BACK: NO 9

Posted on: Sat 23 Jun 2012 Highs, lows and pretty much everything in between, Fernando Torres's season seemingly had it all. Having impressed during the opening day draw at Stoke City, Andre Villas-Boas persisted with the Spaniard as the focal point of a front-three alongside Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge. He scored with an exquisite flick of the right boot away at Manchester United, before missing a fantastic opportunity to double his tally, and while he netted the opener a week later at home to Swansea, he picked up a three-game ban for what was a needless red card soon after. A Champions League brace in the 5-0 win over Genk soon followed, but with Didier Drogba now playing as the lone frontman, Torres's opportunities were somewhat limited, and more often than not he had to be content with coming off the bench. The 5-2 FA Cup quarter-final win against Leicester City saw Torres rediscover his goalscoring touch when he found the net twice in quick succession midway through the second half, while an impressive strike late on away at Aston Villa appeared to strengthen the widely held opinion that he was back to his best. After teeing up Salomon Kalou to score in Benfica, Torres himself was the hero in the Champions League semi-final as he scored the equaliser in our 2-2 draw in Barcelona, while he almost single-handedly secured the three points when Queens Park Rangers made the short trip across west London, scoring a memorable hat-trick in the 6-1 mauling of Mark Hughes's side. Drogba was chosen to lead the line in the Champions League Final in Munich, but Torres came on as a late substitute, and after stating his intentions to win trophies when he made the switch from Liverpool, he ended his first full season at the club with two medals. Appearances: 32+17 Goals: 11 Assists: 18 Minutes on pitch: 3,241