Rafael Benitez has highlighted Fernando Torres's ability to clear the opposition's set pieces as one of the reasons why the striker is "important" for Chelsea.

Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville recently made an analysis claiming that Chelsea players are reluctant to pass the ball to the Spain international forward.

"I didn't see the analysis, but Fernando is a great player," The Mirror quotes Benitez as saying. "His teammates know he's a great player.

"If he's in the right position, they'll play the ball to him. If not, maybe not. All I can do is see things on the pitch and in training, and Fernando is doing really well. He scored a lot of goals in training yesterday. He's doing a great job.

"But it's not just about scoring goals. We changed his position in corners, for example. I don't know if Gary Neville had this opportunity, but two or three times he's cleared the ball and afterwards, going man to man, he did well."

Benitez further explained how Torres is useful for him defensively.

"He's a good header, so we've put him in front of our goal to defend and he's really good," he said. "As a striker, he's helping the team.

"I wouldn't mind him not scoring but the team winning. Winning is the main thing. Fernando will be - is - an important player for us."

Chelsea will host Nordsjaelland in the Champions League on Wednesday.