He came. He tested our patience. He scored. He finally scored. What a sight that was! Platini once said scoring a goal is an orgasmic feeling. Forget scoring. Ask the Chelsea fans all over the world that erupted as Torres hit the back of the net. It was unbelievable! And man, what a celebration by the team! One of the best I’ve ever seen!

He’s got not only the monkey off his back, also the The Daily Mirror, The Sun, BBC Sports, Sky Sports, The Independent, The Telegraph, The TimesOnline, The News Of The World, every tabloid, every editor, every paparazzi and his dog. Having got so much/many off his back, he must certainly feel lighter.

He’s my man of the match. There are better contenders but Torres produced the best moment of the match. Consider this. Comes in at 75th minute. Rain soaked pitch and resurgent relegation battlers waiting for him. Match evenly poised at 1-0 with more signs of a morale-dampening equaliser around the corner. Makes a smart run and collects a pass inside the box, loses the defender with a quick turn and slams the ball with an exquisite finish. That was Game, set and match Chelsea.

At 1-0, we were living very dangerously. It could have gone any which way. We weren’t going to finish this match at 1-0. West Ham were coming at us. They wanted the equaliser very badly. We had to score to put the game to rest. So the Torres goal (wow, there’s such a thing!) was extremely important in the context of the match, and probably of the season. Not just the goal, he made the assist for the third goal and also created a few clear cut chances. His night could have been even better if we had understood his runs and positions better. Anelka missed an opportunity to pass to Torres and Malouda too ignored Torres but redeemed himself with a great finish. Nevertheless, Torres’ late show has won me over. He is my man of the match.

All those tabloids that reported unrest in the dressing room, Carlo losing the dressing room etc only need to look at the footage of Chelsea players’ celebration of Fernando Torres’ debut goal. Enough said.

This was a very pulsating match, especially in the second half. The first half played out like the first halves that we’ve been playing all season. We had the possession, we had the opportunities. West Ham didn’t bother much, because the one thing we didn’t have was a goal. And then the first goal happened.

With 40 minutes of slow build-up and play style routines having been well negotiated by West Ham, we had to do something different. Drogba’s quick ball to Cole and Cole’s hurried low cross and Lampard’s trademark ‘arrive and blast on the run’ meant West Ham were trailing before they could see what hit them. More of that please. The slow build-up style just doesn’t work for us anymore. We need to be quick and clever and devastating – the first goal is the best example. There are occasions where we would try to execute the same attacking move in half the pace and fail. We should do more of these blitzkreigs.

Good performance all around. We did miss numerous opportunities but that’s normal. If all teams net all their opportunities, scores like 10-8 would be normal. Out of all the opportunities, if we can convert 2 or 3 more than the opponent, we’ve done a very good job. The weather and pitch conditions did not make it easy for us. Luckily for us, this was our home game. An away game in such conditions would have been quite tricky.

Special mention to Mikel who had a fantastic game. I made a remark that Chelsea play much better football when Mikel is our defensive midfielder. I think he gives this assurance to his colleagues so they can go looking for goals. He doesn’t need support. He’s able to hold his game on his own. His distribution has also improved very well. When Ramires is back, Carlo has a decision to make.

Drogba has been in supreme form ever since we made a British record transfer for a world class striker. The competition for places always bring the best out of the players. Despite usually being a lone striker, when Shevchenko came in, we saw the best of Didier Drogba is 06-07. Similarly now, I think Drogba is on fire, like he has a point to prove. Amidst all this, he remains to be a great team player, creating chances for others and working hard for the team. By the way, he is the official man of the match.

I wish all other positions in the team also had such competition for places. All season, we’ve had some players who have mostly been picked as long as they’re fit. The lack of competition for their places has not really helped them. It helps to sit out – to rest, to go back to the drawing board, to come back like a wounded animal – it does help.

Now this leaves with a 6-point and 2-goal gap with 4 games to go. It’s all quite simple calculations from now on. If Chelsea and Arsenal beat Man Utd, we’d have not only bridged the gap but also probably taken care of the goal difference.

In the premier league, now we are on a 4-match winning run. We just need another 4-match winning run. Man Utd have got champions league semi finals. We’ve got this and only this. The question is, can Chelsea win 4 matches in a row? One way to answer is, we’ve just managed that. Another is, we are ‘in form’, Cech remains to be the wall, Torres has found the net, Mikel looks assured, Lampard’s got 2 in 3 games, Drogba is in great touch – why not?

Tottenham (home), Man Utd (away), Newcastle (away) and Everton (home). Tottenham match is important for either sides. I don’t need to say much about the Man Utd match. Interestingly, two of these four matches – Newcastle Utd and Everton – have far less significance for the opponents. Newcastle Utd and Everton may not have much to play for while we could be going at them gung-ho.

Next weekend would be the biggest weekend of this season. We play Tottenham at home. And Man Utd play Arsenal at Emirates. If we don’t match or better Man Utd’s result next weekend, our game against Man Utd will not be as big as it looks right now. Meanwhile, if Schalke can get a good result at Old Trafford in the mid-week, Sir Alex might have to call his doctors.

Some great football matches coming up in the next couple of weeks. Firstly we have the last laps of this exciting premier league. Secondly, the champions league. Barca would try to avenge their Copa del rey defeat. They’re fully capable of beating Madrid home and away. Madrid may not be so capable but will certainly be well prepared. The prospect of these fantastic football matches are already making me wonder what I’d do in the off-season.

For now, let’s enjoy the football, wait for things to unfold and hope you get to see what you want to. Just like the Fernando Torres goal.