The downward spiral was evident when West Ham owners showed interest in signing the Spanish star, on loan, during the January 2012 Transfer window. At present, in 34 Premier League appearances, he has managed a meager 3 goals. His dry spell continued in the FA cup match against Birmingham. Torres was substituted by Drogba at half-time.

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres spoke to ESPN:

“To be honest, after one year I was expecting things would be better than they are now. It is a difficult situation because I am happy in my personal life. We really like the club and we’re very happy here to be involved with the staff and the players. On the pitch it is a difficult time for Chelsea because we are not finding the results but we’re changing things like playing a different style and still we have a young team to do it.

“Personally I have to improve. In my time at Liverpool there were games where I would not be playing well or I would be doing nothing but every time I touched the ball I scored. It’s such a strange feeling now because I am feeling better than ever physically. I am not finding the chances and, when I do find the chances, I cannot score.”

However, the striker still wants to stay at Chelsea. He said:

“My present and my future are here. I have many things to do here and I want to do it because I always did what I wanted in every club I’ve been at, so this is not going to be different.”

What do you think Fernando should do to overcome this slump? Leave your comments!

Chelsea’s manager, Andre Villas-Boas has described it to be the worst performance of the season and when asked about the support of his players, the manager retorted -

“They don’t have to back my project, only the owner needs to back my project.”

André Villas-Boas

After another disappointing performance in the FA Cup Fifth Round match against second-tier Birmingham City, it remains to be seen if the manager continues on.

Earlier Andre Villas-Boas said:

“Everybody understands we need more [than we are giving] and responsibility for this must be shared between the players and management. The right results haven’t been happening for us for quite some time.”

Chelsea won the FA Cup and Premier League double in 2010 under former coach Carlo Ancelotti but are now fifth in the top-flight having won only two of their last 10 league games. Villas-Boas was appointed at the close of the season to replace the sacked Ancelotti.

AVB said that captain John Terry trained fully on Thursday despite his persistent knee problem and he may play in Tuesday’s Champions League first knockout round first leg at Napoli.

Strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, might be back for the Napoli match.

However, Arsene Wenger did not react to the insults. This war of words comes right before the clubs match up on Monday at Old Trafford.

Evra called Arsenal a ‘training centre’ and a club in ‘crisis’ in an interview with television channel Canal+. Wenger had an opportunity to counter the spew of words but decided not to give it too much attention, during a press conference on Friday.

Arsene Wenger - Arsenal Manager

The Gunners manager said:

“He gave you some good stuff to make it all hot before the game.”

“We are guided by the way we want to play football and not by the statements of anybody who plays against us.”

“Personally, I believe if you are a big player you always respect your opponent and that is what we try to do.”

When asked if Evra was being disrespectful, Wenger was again reserved:

“I leave that judgment to you. We do not want to go into any unneeded talking before a game like that. We want to focus on the way we want to play and ignore any provocation before a game. We are motivated by the desire to win the game and by the quality of the football we want to play.”

Lee Bowyer’s opening-half goal – his first for nearly 12 months – earned Alex McLeish’s side a shock victory.

But their hero was Foster who bounced back from his error on England duty in midweek with a series of stunning saves.

Chelsea dominated proceedings for the entire 90 minutes but they could not find a way past the former Manchester United player.

It was a vastly improved performance by Chelsea compared to their 3-0 home defeat by Sunderland last weekend.

But they tasted defeat in back to back league matches for the first time since the end of the 2005-2006 campaign and they now only lead Manchester United on goal difference.

In addition to Foster, City centre-backs Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were outstanding.

Chelsea were quickly into their stride and Salomon Kalou missed an early chance to put them ahead.

Didier Drogba’s flick found Kalou with only Foster to beat but his shot went through the legs of the keeper and just past the post.

Foster made a fine save to keep Birmingham on level terms after Drogba was sent clear by Kalou.

It was the kind of chance Drogba would normally convert but Foster raced off his line to reduce the angle and saved low to his left.

Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Barclays Premier League as Tottenham Hotspur fought back from 2-0 down to record a remarkable first victory at Emirates Stadium.

Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh had put the Gunners in complete control as they looked set to leapfrog Chelsea, who play Birmingham City later in the day.

However, Spurs – who had just one Premier League away victory over their old rivals, in May 1993 – regrouped for the second half following the introduction of fit-again England striker Jermain Defoe.

Gareth Bale pulled a goal back on 50 minutes, before a handball from captain Cesc Fabregas from a free-kick gave away a penalty, which Rafael van der Vaart converted.

Arsenal were then condemned to successive home league defeats for the first time in 13 years when Younes Kaboul headed in a dramatic late winner.

Samir Nasri and former team-mate William Gallas clashed within the opening few moments when Nasri raced clear, only to be halted by a fine saving tackle from the former Gunners defender.

It was a positive start for Arsenal, with Fabregas getting into the right side of the Spurs penalty area, but opted to shoot across goal rather than pull the ball back for Nasri.

Fabregas’ chip split the Tottenham defence, but Nasri’s touch into the penalty area was just too heavy, which should have allowed Gomes to come off his line to collect.

However, the Spurs keeper hesitated and failed to gather the ball on the penalty spot, which then bobbled wide.

The return of Wayne Rooney made it a perfect day for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side took full advantage of their title rivals’ misfortunes.

United brushed aside Wigan Athletic, who self-destructed in the second half with two unnecessary red cards, but perhaps more importantly Rooney made his first appearance since the contract saga that saw the England striker threaten to leave before signing a new five-year deal.

The setbacks suffered by Arsenal and Chelsea made it imperative that United did not slip up too and they made no mistake as headers by Patrice Evra and Javier Hernandez ensured Ferguson’s men second spot in the Barclays Premier League table, behind Chelsea only on goal difference.

Rooney should have put the icing on the cake by scoring too but passed up a glorious opportunity.

For Wigan, red cards for Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega virtually ensured they would get nothing from the match.

Source: Premier League

The Red Devils trail four points to current leaders, Chelsea.

Red Devils Vs The Reds

United have five wins from the last six at home to Liverpool, and in 18 Premier League fixtures between the sides at Old Trafford, United have won 10 and lost four.

They had a frustrating midweek draw against Glasgow Rangers in the Champions League. Liverpool will be buzzing after a 4-1 success over Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League.

The Reds have won once in their last 11 away matches and scored just eight goals in their last 14.

The win keeps Real in the race for the La Liga title, a point behind Barcelona. Only 3 more games remain for Real to clinch the title. Knowing that a loss could crush their title hopes, Real still didn’t perform too well, they trailed Osasuna on two occasions.

After the match, Pellegrini said:

“He’s a player who makes the difference and we are fortunate he’s with us.”

Pellegrini also added:

“I think the team is very strong, especially on a psychological level. This is vital in the final stage of the season.”

Ronaldo commented:

“In my opinion all the team were very bad. I’m speaking of those up front, those in the middle and those at the back. We cannot allow Osasuna to have caused us so much danger.”

“We need to remember we are playing for the league and we need to be more focused. It can’t happen again, because on another occasion we are not going to be able to bounce back. But we had the fortune of being able to do it today. If you lose points at this moment you lose the title. Thank God we managed to score the third goal and win the game. We need to continue winning. Barcelona have a great team but the great teams also lose. We need to think that it’s possible that they will drop points.”

Liverpool face Chelsea this Sunday and are

in a dilemma since a win over the 2006 Champions would favour their archrivals- United, to seal the Premier League title this season, the bright side being Liverpool can get closer to finishing fourth.

Liverpool faced a sad exit from the Europa League Semi-Final against Atletico Madrid, with a last gasp goal from Diego Forlan.

The club has also been put up for sale by the American owners, which could prove beneficial for the next season.

Man of the moment- Ryan Giggs

Talismanic striker Rooney, missed the game due to a groin injury, however this did not deter the team from giving the game their all.

United are just two games away from their fourth successive Premier League title. They are on 79 points, with Chelsea on 77.

The final half hour saw the most action with skipper Giggs scoring twice and Nani finally coming into his own, scored a killer goal.

A smiling Ferguson commented:

“I think we played well … the most important thing was we kept our nerve.”

“There were no signs of nerves whatsoever throughout the game, it was great to see that at this vital time of the season. We beat the in-form team of the week today, that says a lot for us.”

Watch the goal here.

Arsenal didn’t look like themselves, they were passing the ball too well in the first half. However, during break Arsene Wenger surely let his mind out. The Gunners looked better and created more chances in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

First it was Johnson’s own goal that  allowed Arsenal a foot into the door and then Arshavin took a beautiful volley to wrap the game up for the visitors.

After another loss for the Reds, Benitez and the fans must have surely lost confidence about the team’s chances of giving a fight for a  position in the top four.

Bottom placed Portsmouth played well to earn a victory over Burnley. It was the first match for Avram Grant as Portsmouth manager, and it was a delightful welcome for him.

Brunley squandered quite a few opportunities to go ahead and will surely regret the missed chances.

Portsmouth didn’t give up and kept pushing forward. Portsmouth had a great chance to go one-up from a penalty but Dindane managed to miss it. However, later in the game he scored adding to the lead given to the home team through Hermann Hreidarsson’s brilliant left-footer.

Portsmouth are now temporarily off the bottom place.

Blackburn 0-0 Liverpool

Liverpool earn another frustrating draw. The first half had nothing interesting happening. Both teams evenly matched up until the break.

At the start of the second half Blackburn had some great opportunities, through Chelesa’s loan signing- Di Santo. The youngster played well.

Liverpool also had decent opportunites, the most tlling one being a terrific run by Glenn Johnson to put N’gog on goal, but N’gog somehow skewed the shot on the top-bar. The rebound was hit off target.

Liverpool surely looked like they were missing Torres, The Reds were just unable to put the ball in the back of the net.

Wonder why Benitez wasn’t looking to bring Aquiliani on as a substitute, Nabil El Zhar was brought in as a late substitute.

Blackburn were also suffering from some kind of jitters in front of goal, like their counterparts. They also had numerous opportunities to seal the deal, but were unsuccessful.

Although Blackburn will be happy to gain a point after a rigorous mid-week game.

West Ham 0-4 Manchester United

It was a thumping win for the defending champions. Scholes opened the score just before half-time.

Wonder kid- Darron Gibbson scored another glorious strike just over the hour mark and added to the lead.

The Hammers had decent chances as well but couldn’t convert. Diamanti had an awesome shot on goal, but Kuzczak pulled an even better save.

Two quick goals were scored by Valencia and Rooney which took the match away from the home team.

Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City

Prior to the match Arshavin had stated that Arsenal were missing Van Persie upfront and also some tall statured players(Arshavin himself being around 5′ 8″).

Arshavin looked lively on the field and managed to win a penalty after forcing an error from Delap. Skipper Fabregas came up to take the spot-kick but Sorensen saved it.

Arshavin scored another brilliant goal from a Fabregas cross.

Ramsey scored the second to give Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Stoke City.

Wigan 2-3 Birmingham

Wigan took the lead in the first half through N’Zogbia’s 33rd minute strike.

Sebastian Larsson equalized for the visitors in the 61st minute and five minutes later Christian Benitez gave Birmingham the lead. Later Larsson extended the lead by scoring his second goal in the game.

Jordi Gomez pulled one back late in the match, but it was just too late for the homeside.

Until today’s loss, Wigan were undefeated at home after leading 1-0.

Aston Villa 3-0 Hull

Villa scored early in the game through Richard Dunne from a Milner assist. 15 minutes later Milner celebrated his own strike and also Villa’s 2-0 lead.

Aston Villa kept attacking Hull City, they won a penalty which was taken by Carew.

Wolves 2-1 Bolton

The fastest goal of the day was scored by Wolverhampton’s Jody Carddock in the 3rd minute.

Nenad Milijas added to the lead. Bolton struck a late goal through Johan Elmander.

Both sides looked to attack but the game ended 2-1 to Wolves.

Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea

The final match of the day was the most exhilirating encounter. Both sides were looking to attack from kick-off.

Chelsea took the lead when Anelka’s shot could have been saved by Given, but unfortunately the ball bounced into the net off Adebayor back. Adebayor took revenge later in the half, scoring from a corner.

The second half got into a high-tempo mode. Both sides were driving players forward and referee came into action many-a-times producing yellow cards and giving free-kicks. Chelsea and Man City had good chances, Chelsea didn’t manage to capitilize. City were awarded a free-kick just outside the box, which was wonderfully converted by Tevez to give City the lead.

Drogba won a penalty for Chelsea after drawing a foul from Onuoha, late in the game. Given came to City’s rescue by saving Lampard’s penalty and thus ensuring a win for Man City.

Shay Given saves Lampard's penalty

City’s Micah Richards and Wayne Bridge both seemed to be injured, Bridge was carried off on a stretcher after a sliding tackle from Belletti. Chelsea’s Terry also limped off late in the second half.