Tortilla9

The timing of the interview was awful no two ways around it. That said Guillem, what a troll, is going to try to interview Torres as soon as possible after the match. Guillen knows Torres generates huge interest in Spain, in England (with those who love and hate him), and having a Torres interview is a goldmine for him. Guillem is going to "tease" the interview on twitter like he always does and then post as soon as possible. He doesn't care when the timing is. Guillem is going to ask the questions and Torres, right or wrong, is pretty candid when he actually does interviews and responds to the questions. Torres was asked about not starting by Sky and Guillem. Guillem didn't ask him about the PKs but another reporter did. They asked and he answered. Love the boy but like a poster said on twitter, timing and Torres don't mix just like two d**ks don't mix.

I'm waiting to read the entire Guiilem interview when he posts it because Guillem has his own agenda too. That said the timing.....for the love of God, why now?!

Sometimes I think of the tequila commercial when I see Robbie. Calm, cool, collected.

Neville was talking about how big Neuer looked in goal on the PKs. Thought Cech was just as imposing and his "guesses" were spot on. Once he got the first save it just seemed like CFC were going to win.

Good post-game Torres and Mata http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3VfbSIEed_Y

How can you not smile looking at the Torres/Luiz pic?

AVB - lots of posts and threads devoted to his tenure. RDM's PL record since he's taken over seems to be glossed over because of the feel good factor of everybody pulling together and not bitchin' publicly PLUS the high of the CL championship chase.

Seriously?!? My daughter's U16 coach wanted to cut her from her team after her first knee injury.

My daughter watched the LFC game and her comments about Essien were empathetic to where he is athletically. She's had 3 knee surgeries in 3 years (2 acl tears) and each time it's harder to come back but you desperately want to be back out there. Just because you're cleared to play doesn't mean you're mentally or physically back. She said it was about a year post-surgery before she felt close to her old self and then she got hurt again. All she wanted was a week/month where she could practice and play without the knee flaring up - swelling, tightness, etc. At the end of the game my daughter said "I really wanted him to play well but he didn't look so good. Probably how I looked out there." She's hung up her boots after 10 years because of knee pain, hamstring tightness, herniated disks, etc. She loves the game still but the game doesn't love her body. I hope Essien can go out with dignity and be remembered as being a class player, not a player on his last legs who over-stayed his welcome.

Any details on the goal other than goalscorer?

Caveat: I'm at work so I'm following via forums/twitter and haven't see the match myself. From what I'm reading the Malouda/Torres/Sturridge lineup was a disaster with Malouda and Sturridge the main culprits of ineptitude/selfishness/laziness. The midfield wasn't spectacular either. How did the Torres/Drogba partnership look for the brief time it was out there? Too little too late? Too difficult to break down the bus at that point?

Subs: Turnbul, Cole, Essien, Lampard, Mata, Kalou, Drogba

Bench? Malouda to start. Meh.

In the US, Fox Sports is showing Chelsea live. I don't even remember if Spurs was an option when I was looking to record the Chelsea game but I wasn't looking for them either. Hoping for a win so Warren Barton won't be gloating about Newcastle. BTW, Eric Wynalda who I think is ok loves RDM.

Just as I was going to say Malouda is awful he goes and scores. Go figure.

Who was happier there, Torres or Roman?

From @chelseafc on twitter today: Early notice - Fernando Torres will be in the Stamford Bridge Megastore Friday, April 13 to sign shirts. I predict it's going to be a little crazy.

My little red notification button was quite busy. Like I admitted to...brain lapse. Sometimes you look at something and make it much harder than it needs to be. That's me with the away goal. Thanks for the clarification. I'll start worrying IF Benfica scores.

I'm having a brain lapse here. If the score Wed is say Chelsea 4 - Benfica 2, Chelsea still go through on aggregate, right? The away goal and multi-tasking is messing with my head.

I am not disputing AVB gave Torres chances. All I'm saying is since the departure of AVB Torres seems to be revived. And it's not just Torres. I look back to when I was a brand new manager managing a group of 10. Some my age, some older. I tried to put my stamp on things, set the tone. Some things I did great and some things I went overboard. Somethings I did as a new manager I would never do now and looking back on I cringe. I think AVB would look back on his CFC experience and like a re-do on some things. Not to say that some players needed a swift kick in the a$$ then.

Since Torres isn't taking my calls anymore I can only speculate what he's thinking by the words of his inept management and his recent performances - AVB didn't seem to believe in Torres and Torres knew that, RDM seems to be believe in him, Torres seems to believe that RDM believes in him, and Torres is getting his sh*t together on the pitch in overall play, assists, goals, etc. Whatever "IT" is it is working for him.

Better than Andy Carroll that's for sure.

I give RDM a lot of credit. The confidence RDM has in him seems to be paying off.

I always wonder about the translation. I would believe it more if he said "he didn't have the confidence of the manager". On the other hand, please shut up. Sometimes I think his management isn't the sharpest.

Did AVB take Romeu with him when he left Cobham? I know he's still there but it seems he's disappeared completely when it comes to playing time. Or even appearing on the bench.