We'll tame Torres pledges Carvalho

Signed for a club record £20million from Atletico Madrid, the 23-year-old could have been forgiven for having a 'settling-in' period on Merseyside.

If it wasn't for Cristiano Ronaldo's efforts for Manchester United, Torres would be pushing hard for the footballer of the year accolade.

Manager Rafa Benitez may not have realised it at the time, but the Spaniard's first goal was fashioned by a one-two punch that could punish Chelsea again in tomorrow night's Champions League semi-final first leg.

Steven Gerrard, playing despite having pain-killing injections in his fractured toe, threaded a peach of a ball through to the 23-year-old on 16 minutes and Torres cruised round the outside of Tal Ben Haim before slotting the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Ricardo Carvalho missed that match and has yet to face Torres this season after the striker was left out of Chelsea's 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge in the Carling Cup just before Christmas and the goalless draw in the League in February.

Yet the Portuguese defender believes he knows how to keep Torres in check despite his 30 goals coming in only 42 games.

He said: "Torres has played very well this season and especially as it is his first season. He has scored a lot of goals and has been important for Liverpool. But the most important thing is how strong we are as a team and we have to show that.

"We have the best defensive record in the competition. We are compact. Sometimes we haven't played well but we have played a good defensive game.

"Everyone is helping out the back four and it's important to carry on like this, although we still need to play better."

Avram Grant's side have let in just four goals in 10 games and went over 11 hours without conceding before Fenerbahce scored twice in the quarter-final first leg.

"I have won the Champions League in my career, but Chelsea have not," added Carvalho. "We want to go through, everyone knows how important the competition is for us.

"Everyone is speaking about how we have never won it, but we have great players and we have a chance to do it this year."

Unsurprisingly, Sami Hyypia begs to differ. He believes Torres, nicely rested after sitting out Saturday's 2-0 win at Fulham on the bench, will use the memory of that first goal eight months ago to be his inspiration tomorrow. The tall Finn, captain at Craven Cottage in the absence of the injured Gerrard, said: "When you're new to England, if you have a good start like Fernando did against Chelsea it gives you the confidence to go further.

"I did know before he came to us that he was a good player. I'd followed him for quite a while and I even tipped him to be the top scorer in the last World Cup. But I was surprised by how well he adapted to the Premier League so quickly."

Hyypia's 300th League appearance for Liverpool ended at half-time on Saturday when he succumbed to a bout of dizziness following a head-to-head collision with Brian McBride.

Benitez has insisted his rock of a centre-half will be fit to face Chelsea, as will committed midfielder Javier Mascherano, who came off in the second half against Fulham as a precaution.

Gerrard will have a fitness test on his injured neck today and should take his place just behind Torres in attack as Liverpool aim to make it three Champions League semi-final wins over Chelsea.

Gerrard's influential presence will be vital to Liverpool's cause, which was one of the main reasons Benitez fielded another weakened team against Fulham despite the controversy of last May when he made nine changes in a game they lost 1-0 to ensure the Cottagers' Premier League survival.

"It is my responsibility to use my squad to try to win every game," Benitez said. "It was important to do the job against Fulham, and even without Torres and Gerrard we showed that we have enough quality."

Carvalho played in both of Chelsea's defeats to Liverpool in 2005 and 2007 as the Blues seemed to struggle to cope with the atmosphere at Anfield and the Liverpool fans are planning another warm reception for tomorrow night.

The defender is adamant, though, that it will bring out the best in Chelsea this time and said: "It is always difficult to play at Anfield, they have a very good atmosphere. We will have to play both games very well. We have to focus on ourselves and play our best game. We have strong players but we have to play as a team."