On the final day of the January transfer window in 2011, Chelsea completed the signing of striker Fernando Torres from Liverpool for a British record transfer fee of £50m as the Blues looked to signal their intent on a domestic and European level.
The Spaniard's debut for Carlo Ancelotti's team would come later that week against the Merseyside outfit that he had just departed in what was an immediate test of his confidence and form after an indifferent campaign for Kenny Dalglish's side.
Torres was named in a three-man attack alongside Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, while Liverpool's new signing Luis Suarez could only win a place on the substitutes' bench as Dalglish went with Dirk Kuyt as a lone striker with Maxi Rodriguez providing the support.
There was an air of anticipation inside Stamford Bridge as the home supporters awaited an instant impact from their new acquisition, but Torres's effort to make a fairytale start to his Chelsea career ended in failure as he drove the ball high into the stands from 25 yards, much to the delight of the visiting contingent.
Liverpool were showing little ambition to break forward during an uneventful first 15 minutes as Dalglish seemed content to nullify Chelsea's attack by employing a five-man defence to counteract Ancelotti's direct approach to involve his strikeforce at the earliest opportunity.
© Getty Images
Torres continued to be well shackled by a well-oiled Liverpool backline, but Chelsea finally created their first chance of note from a corner kick, although Branislav Ivanovic could only flick his header wide of the post.
Moments later, Drogba played a through-ball to Torres, who quickly latched on to the pass, but the Spaniard was denied a shooting opportunity by Jamie Carragher, who dived in to dispossess his former teammate.
Liverpool had shown little in the way of attacking ambition, but they should have taken the lead on 32 minutes when Steven Gerrard's low cross into the middle found Maxi, but he somehow only managed to poke the ball against the crossbar from six yards.
The second half began much in the same fashion as the first half concluded, with Chelsea threatening to test Pepe Reina but failing to apply the clinical touch in the penalty area as Ivanovic headed their best chance yards over the bar.
The home outfit continued to have a sustained period of possession but they were doing little with the ball, and their lack of urgency in the final third forced Ancelotti to bring Torres's less-than-encouraging debut to a premature end as he was replaced by Salomon Kalou.
© Getty Images
The alteration only had a detrimental effect on the Blues as three minutes later, Liverpool silenced Stamford Bridge by taking the lead through Raul Meireles, who took advantage of confusion between Petr Cech and Ivanovic to score at the back post.
Florent Malouda replaced John Obi Mikel as Ancelotti looked to throw everything at the Reds during the final 20 minutes, and within a minute, the French winger had come as close to scoring as his side had done all afternoon with a rasping effort that just cleared Reina's bar.
David Luiz was also thrown on for his Chelsea debut, but the Brazilian was ineffectual as the West London side struggled to find their way past an inspired defensive performance from Liverpool, who deservedly ran out 1-0 victors.
The remainder of the campaign turned out to be one of frustration for Torres as he only found the net once in 14 appearances, but Chelsea did manage to hold off the challenge of Manchester City and Arsenal to finish in second position in the Premier League table.
As for Liverpool, they could only win six of their remaining 12 fixtures to finish in sixth place in the standings, while they were eliminated from the Europa League at the last-16 stage after a disappointing aggregate defeat to Braga.
Darren Plant
