Chelsea 3-0 West Ham - Fernando Torres Scores 1st Chelsea Goal
Fernando Torres Celebrates 1st Chelsea Goal
Chelsea 3-0 West Ham
Stamford Bridge April 23, 2011
Fernando Torres smiled after scoring his first goal for Chelsea in Saturday's 3-0 victory over West Ham in his 14th outing after a £50m January move from Liverpool, the Spain striker ended a 903-minute drought.
"It was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed, but it's never easy when you arrive in January at a massive team like this," said Torres.
"There's less pressure for me now, now I can enjoy it."
The 27-year-old started on the substitutes' bench for the fifth successive Premier League match before coming on for Didier Drogba in the 76th minute.
Chelsea were leading 1-0.
Torres kicked a great shot past West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.
"I kept working and it's thanks to all my team-mates that I scored," he added. "Thanks to all my team-mates, they were looking for me in every game.
"It wasn't so difficult for me but for the fans - I had more anxiety for them than for me, I wanted to show them I could score and hopefully this is the first of many goals.
"Now we can try and finish the season as we all want."
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti was thrilled for Torres and his side, who are now three points clear of Arsenal in third and remain six points behind leaders Manchester United following their 1-0 victory over Everton.
"What a perfect day," stated Ancelotti. "Everyone has been waiting for Fernando to score and finally he did it. From today, a new life.
"He needed a goal - he worked hard and maintained confidence and composure. From today, he will have fantastic future at this club.
"The big problem was that he came to a new club and it was not easy to immediately find a good relationship with the new teammates and our play.
"Now the bad moment has gone and we will take advantage with his performances."
"Considering the performance of Didier today, considering that Fernando scored, we have to try to put both together," the Italian commented.
"We have one week to train, we can try and I think that I will take a decision for the next game."
Ancelotti said Chelsea will fight until the end to retain their crown.
"I don't think Manchester United have more pressure now, they are six points ahead and that is a good gap with just four games left," the Chelsea manager added.
"But we will keep trying to do our best and hope something will happen. If not, we have to celebrate Man United for having a great Premier League season."
The scoreline was harsh on bottom-of-the table West Ham - two points adrift of safety - and Hammers manager Avram Grant reflected: "I think everybody in this room knows that we deserved better.
"Petr Cech was excellent today with two or three great saves. If someone didn't see the game, they think 3-0, Chelsea is much better than us.
"I can be very proud of the players. Without the player of the year [Scott Parker], without Matthew Upson, without Gary O'Neil, and Mark Noble second half, they showed a lot of belief, a lot of spirit.
"If we continue to play like this, we will stay in the league."
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Wayne Rooney Scores Hat Trick - West Ham United 2-4 Manchester United
WEST HAM UNITED 2-4 MANCHESTER UNITED
Wayne Rooney scored a hat trick against West Ham United during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground on April 2, 2011 in London, England.
An incredible second-half comeback by United turned around a 2-0 deficit, with Wayne Rooney striking a quickfire hat-trick midway through the period to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Two Mark Noble penalties in the first half put West Ham 2-0 up at half time.
Superstar Man United striker, Wayne Rooney single-handedly rescued his side with a stunning treble, the third of which came from a controversially awarded penalty from referee Lee Mason. Substitute Javier Hernandez rounded off the comeback with a tap-in seven minutes from time. With West Ham's confidence completely drained, United struck a fourth seven minutes from time as Giggs' low cross somehow slipped through Upson's legs and allowed Hernandez a simple tap-in at the back post.
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Watch the fight for the Premier League championship – and the battle to stay out of relagation. Premiership tickets are available for all Premier League Match games. Buy Premier League tickets now. Great football tickets are for sale online. Great Manchester United tickets, Arsenal tickets, Chelsea tickets, Liverpool tickets, Tottenham Hotspur tickets, Manchester City tickets, Newcastle United tickets, West Ham tickets, Everton tickets, Aston Villa tickets, Fulham tickets and Sunderland tickets are still available.
Premier League Upcoming Matches
Nani was carried off and sidelined as a result of an injury inflicted by Carragher’s first-half tackle during the 3-1 defeat at Anfield - which resulted in referee Phil Dowd brandishing a yellow card to the Liverpool defender.
Jamie Carragher was not sent off for a blatant assault on Nani. It was a high, reckless, illegal tackle - and a red should have been shown. Carragher recieved only a yellow for the tackle, while Edwin van der Sar recieved the same punishment for simply expressing his anger at the decision. The high tackle resulted in a deep wound and it is the height of the tackle which is the despairing part of it - without douby, Jamie Carragher should not have been allowed to stay on the pitch.
Going into the weekend, Manchester United sits on top of the English Premiership followed by arch-rival Arsenal. The rivalry between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger is intense this campaign with Manchester united and Arsenal in direct competition for the FA Cup and Premier League trophies.
| 1. | Manchester United | 29 | 33 | 60 |
| 2. | Arsenal | 28 | 30 | 57 |
| 3. | Manchester City | 29 | 20 | 53 |
| 4. | Chelsea | 28 | 27 | 51 |
| 5. | Tottenham | 28 | 7 | 48 |
| 6. | Liverpool | 29 | 3 | 42 |
PREMIER LEAGUE UPCOMING MARCH MATCHES
FA Cup Quarter Finals Matches
Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov - Manchester United Superstars
| Birmingham City – Bolton Wanderers | — | 12/03/2011 12:45 GMT | |
| Manchester United – Arsenal | — | 12/03/2011 17:15 GMT | |
| Stoke City – West Ham United | — | 13/03/2011 14:00 GMT | |
| Manchester City – Reading | — | 13/03/2011 16:45 GMT |
| FA Cup: Manchester United v Arsenal Tickets | 12 Mar 2011 15:00 | Old Trafford Manchester, United Kingdom | |
| FA CUP FINAL 2011 Tickets | 14 May 2011 0:00 | Wembley Stadium London, United Kingdom |
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