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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Nathan Bliss

We 'signed' Fernando Torres in his prime for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and this is what happened

Friday August 23rd was a sad day in the football world, with former Liverpool and Spain forward Fernando Torres playing his last ever game as a professional footballer, when his side Sagan Tosu took on Vissel Kobe in Japan's J-League.

The former Atletico Madrid captain made 102 appearances for the Reds, scoring 65 goals and establishing himself as one of the best strikers on the planet, becoming a real fan favourite at Anfield.

However, he then made a controversial £50 million move to Premier League rivals Chelsea, where he made 110 appearances, but only managed 20 goals.

But, it's easy to forget just how good Torres was in his prime at Anfield, destroying defences all over Europe with his incredible pace and finishing ability.

This got us thinking.

If he could do that under Rafa Benitez, just how many goals would Torres score if he'd have played for Jurgen Klopp's modern Liverpool side?

To do this, we used popular simulation game Football Manager 2019.

Fernando Torres in his prime years at Liverpool in 2018/19

 

Using the Liverpool experts around the office, we created Fernando Torres' profile in the Football Manager 2019 editor, filling it with the attributes he would have had in his prime years at Liverpool, the 2007/08 season.

In that season, he scored an incredible 24 Premier League goals in just 33 games.

This is what Torres profile looked like in Football Manager 2019.

Fernando Torres' profile in Football Manager 2019 (Football Manager 2019)

Best attributes: Off the ball, acceleration, flair, determination, finishing, technique, pace, work rate, first touch, heading, dribbling.

We then simmed the 2018/19 season with the Spaniard at Liverpool, to see what impact he could have made for the club last season.

Liverpool's season with Torres in 2018/19

On Football Manager 2019, Liverpool are a very strong team, but they were absolutely incredible with a prime Torres in their team.

However, after 37 Premier League games, Liverpool were joint top at of the division with Man City, on the same number of points, albeit with a better goal difference.

Their final game of the season? Man City at Anfield.

Klopp's side simply could not lose this game and they needed their players to step up for one final time - and that's just what Torres did.

Liverpool (with Fernando Torres) vs Man City on Football Manager 2019 (Football Manager 2019)

The Spaniard scored two goals in a 3-0 win for Liverpool, as they won the 2018/19 Premier League title.

Liverpool won the 2018/19 Premier League title with Fernando Torres (Football Manager 2019)

This is how the league table looked like after 38 league games, with Liverpool winning the title, three points ahead of Man City .

(Football Manager 2019)

Torres had a sensational season, scoring 19 league goals (30 league apps) and 34 goals in all competitions (51 apps), finishing as the club's top goalscorer.

Liverpool's top goalscorers in 2018/19 (Football Manager 2019)

The 24-year-old also won the English Footballer of the Year award....

(Football Manager 2019)

And the Players' Player of the Year award.

(Football Manager 2019)

Liverpool's strongest first eleven for the 2018/19 season included Torres, obviously, with Roberto Firmino losing his place as Klopp's first choice striker.

(Football Manager 2019)

With the former Liverpool striker leading the line, the Reds scored an astonishing 92 league goals, more than any other side in the division, including 14 more than 2nd place Man City.

(Football Manager 2019)

But how did Torres and Reds boss Klopp get on?

Well, like a house on fire apparently, as Klopp is mentioned in Torres' favoured personnel section at the end of the 2018/19 season, which means they had a very close relationship in-game.

(Football Manager 2019)

No matter what you think of Torres right now, you can't deny the impact he made at Liverpool, he was absolutely sensational for the club.

Under Klopp, he would have been incredible, according to Football Manager.

Happy retirement El Nino.

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