Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas insists that he is happy with Fernando Torres’ all-round contribution despite the striker posting another poor miss during the club’s 0-0 draw with Norwich City.
The £50 million striker shot wide from close range, failing to score for the 11th Premier League game in a row, as the Blues squandered the clear majority of possession at Carrow Road and missed a chance to gain on their rivals.
But his boss was keen to underline Torres’ contribution, telling reporters: “He tried really hard.
“He collided with an excellent save from Ruddy in the first half. His movements, again, were sharp and inventive, trying hard to get these goals that he wants, but he had a major impact, also, in our offensive game and we’re happy with his play.”
The Spaniard was subjected to near-constant mockery from the loud Norwich support, but Villas-Boas reminded fans of his well-received showing against Sunderland last time out, a game Chelsea won 1-0, arguing that Torres is made a scapegoat for the rest of the team.
“I think it was just persistent jeering this week but we can’t be hypocrites and not take into account what he did in the last game against Sunderland where everybody praised him,” the Portuguese continued.
“He’s doing excellent things for the team – it doesn’t matter who scores the goals.
“In terms of efficiency, he couldn’t find the back of the net, but we are not looking just for that, we are looking for him to produce for the team, and the team have had a good amount of chances to win the game [today] – the difference was that we didn’t score from any of them.
“We created the most opportunities to win the game.
“In the first half it was split between the two teams for good opportunities, but in the second half we managed to be dominant but we couldn’t find the back of the net.
“The work-rate was fantastic, they really fought hard to get the winning goal but we couldn’t find it, whether through lack of efficiency or due to [Norwich goalkeeper John] Ruddy’s amazing performance.
“Bearing in mind Norwich’s run of form, you could say that it’s not a bad point, but the fact that you want to be champions puts things in a different perspective.
“[Sunday’s] fixtures could punish us hard. We couldn’t win in this opportunity to push for the title and we will have to wait and see whether it’s a point gained or two points dropped.”
Midfielder Frank Lampard, meanwhile, was taken off in the first half with a calf injury, and Villas-Boas confirmed the severity of the problem.
“The doctors tell me it’s something very serious, it’s obviously a muscle tear,” he revealed.
“We’ll have to find the extent of the injury. Only through the MRI can we know how much time he’s going to be out.”
The Blues boss had surprised many by omitting new signing Gary Cahill from the match squad, which he explained as the defender needing time to bed in.
“I think there are certain principles that take time to assimilate, bearing in mind our defensive organisation,” argued the 34-year-old manager.
“He’s only had four days’ training, where he did extremely well. We decided to go for [Branislav] Ivanovic on the bench because he offers versatility at right-back and central defence, but I’m sure Gary’s going to be in contention for QPR [in the FA Cup next weekend].”
（Goal.com）
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