The Spanish midfielder Juan Mata has said that Chelsea need to adapt their style in order to suit the Spanish striker Fernando Torres rather than continue to play in the old style that suited Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast international has always been a huge presence at the club during his eight years at Stamford Bridge. Due to his physical presence, the players were able to give the ball to him in the hope that he would hold it until they arrived in their positions. However, with Torres, things have been extremely difficult because the Spaniard is not good at holding the ball.

Instead, Mata has suggested that Fernando Torres is the kind of player who likes to play in front of goal more often than not and not with his back towards goal. Due to the departure of Drogba in the summer, Torres has been the main striker at the club. Even though he has not been spectacular, he has still been able to plan the seven goals for the club. However, he has just scored four goals in just two matches following the arrival of Benitez. The subtle changes to the way Chelsea play has been responsible for it according to Mata, who expects Torres to come good once he settles to this new style of play.

“With Drogba we were conditioned to play in a certain way. We’ve had to learn to cope without him because for many long years he was Chelsea’s lightning conductor. His runs aren’t the same. He’s not a funnel for our play like Drogba could be. He doesn’t like the holding-it-up role. He prefers finding space and facing the goal. For me, he is still one of the best strikers in the world,” said Mata after Torres lifted Chelsea to the third position with two goals against Sunderland.