Torres strikes twice to sink 10-man Chelsea.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Fernando Torres' goal in the 88th minute, when Chelsea were down to 10 men because of Frank Lampard's red card, allowed Liverpool to continue their pursuit of Manchester United, whose lead stands at two points with a match in hand. The Spaniard's second, in stoppage time, came after an Ashley Cole challenge had knocked the ball into his path, did not matter much. Chelsea were beaten as soon as Torres glanced home a near-post header from Fabio Aur'lio's delivery.

Lampard had been sent off by Mike Riley after an hour, despite making contact with the ball before the collision with Xabi Alonso. While the referee might claim that Lampard's studs were raised, he had done no more than speak to Steven Gerrard when the Liverpool captain had fouled Mikel John Obi shortly before. The Anfield outfit made the most of their luck.

Subtlety was scarce. Robbie Keane had no opportunity to supply it since the GBP20m signing, for the second time in three fixtures, was not named in the squad. While the Liverpool manager is employed to make such judgments, the deterioration in recent results had puts him under scrutiny.

For the first time since December 2007 the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, ...