Jon Mcleod
Andrew MacdougallThe final word on the weekend - Torres and Macheda take charge.
It is at this stage of the season when the value of individuals becomes tangible. With six games left – seven for Manchester United – and the Premier League title increasingly at stake, tension and neuroses can rule the day and wreak havoc on the hopes of players, coaches and fans.
In such circumstances it is difficult for a team to function to its maximum, for each element to reproduce its best. And so the emphasis often switches to those individuals capable of match and season defining interventions.
In the early Premier League kick off on Saturday, Fernando Torres scored a majestic double to maintain Liverpool’s distant hopes of a first league title in 19 years. They went on to beat Blackburn 4-0, but it was the Spanish striker’s exquisite improvisation and finishing that did for their opponents. The two late goals merely garnish.
In the late kick off, Manchester United needed to respond. And 15 minutes from lights out, lightning struck for the second time this week. Federico Macheda deflected Michael Carrick’s into the Sunderland net and Manchester United resumed their advantage in the title race. Head to head comparisons between Torres and Macheda would be wrong. One is the most complete striker in the world; the other is a rookie with unknown potential. But both have made crucial interventions in recent weeks and who would bet against them doing it again?
However, for all Torres’ unyielding quality, United remain favourites for the title. With their only other world-class attacking player, Steven Gerrard, struggling with injury, Liverpool will be over-reliant on Torres while United can look to Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs. Untied are not just favourites because of their numerical advantage, it is because at this stage of the season it is often the individuals that make the difference.
