Carra hails special Torres

JAMIE CARRAGHER today hailed the unseen side of Fernando Torres' game that helped keep the momentum behind Liverpool's push for a top four finish.

While many felt it was inevitable the Spanish striker would mark his first start since January 13 with a goal, there was another side of his performance in the 2-1 win over Blackburn that really struck a chord.

Despite taking a number of hefty whacks, Torres refused to be bullied by Blackburn's defenders and ended up having the last laugh, as his strike just before half-time at Anfield yesterday helped the Reds secure three crucial points.

His efforts earned a glowing tribute from Carragher, who is keeping his fingers crossed that Torres returns unscathed from Spain's friendly against France in midweek to lead Liverpool's drive towards the Champions League places.

"Glen (Johnson) will be back soon, maybe in time for Wigan, and things are looking a bit more rosy," he said. "You talk about having a squad but we've got our big players back.

"Fernando has come back in and it goes without saying how much we have missed him. He is still our top scorer, the kind of special player who will make a difference.

"I know from training against him that he can cope with the physical side. He's a big, powerful lad, who is right up for the fight, and he's ideally suited to English football.

"That's why he's done so well. It would be wrong to rely on just one man. After all, you never know, he could come back injured off international duty.

"Please God, that doesn't happen. But he makes a big difference and you can see we are a much better team when he is with us."

Liverpool might not have played much free-flowing football yesterday against a Blackburn team that was intent on making life difficult but, as the vice captain pointed out, they achieved their main objective.

With Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur passing their weekend assignments, it was imperative Liverpool did not falter and Carragher took encouragement from the result, particularly as they had little time to recover from their trip to Bucharest.

"It was a massive win," said Carragher. "We knew there was pressure on us with Tottenham and Manchester City winning and when you play away from home on a Thursday night (in the Europa League) it is really difficult.

"When you add in to it that Blackburn will have been preparing all week for the game and you knew they were going to make it tough, the three points looks even better.

"We know we didn't play fantastically well and that it was more of a fight than anything but we have got three points going into an international break. That's all we wanted.

"You could see everyone at the end was desperate to fight for it. It got to the point where we even felt under pressure when they had free-kicks on the edge of their box but we have won. That's all that matters."

The Reds, meanwhile, will send Daniel Agger for a scan on his knee today; the Danish defender played the entire game but left Anfield on crutches and, as yet, there has been no diagnosis.

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