Gary Cahill believes Fernando Torres will shine at Chelsea now he is the first-choice striker.
Torres scored his opening Premier League goal of the season in the club’s dramatic 4-2 victory over Reading last night.
The Spain international has struggled to justify his £50million price tag since joining from Liverpool for a British record fee in January 2011.
But Chelsea have built the team around him this term following Didier Drogba’s departure to Shanghai Shenhua in the summer.
He already looks more of a threat and followed up his goal against Manchester City in the Community Shield with another last night.
Cahill feels Torres (below) will thrive now he has the responsibility of leading Chelsea’s attack on a regular basis and told Standard Sport: “Maybe he will relish being the main man this season. He has done that at the start of the season and has been great for us.
“It is good to see him score so early in the season. He has dealt with pressure before and that won’t be any different for him this time. He is the main man this year and has got off to a fantastic start. Fernando has worked hard in training like he always does. Even when he doesn’t score he works hard for the side.
“To get off the mark already is great and he was scoring goals in the European Championships for Spain [where he won the Golden Boot] so he has taken that sort of form into this season.”
Chelsea’s victory means they are now top of the Premier League, albeit after just two matches, for the first time since November 2010.
Last season they finished 25 points behind Manchester City and Manchester United and Cahill has revealed that coach Roberto di Matteo has told the players a repeat will not be tolerated.
He added: “The manager stressed beforehand that we haven’t been top of the League for a long time and although it’s early, it’s nice to be sitting there.
“It is something we needed to address this season and it has been drilled into us. It’s important that we challenge this year and we have made a good start.”
Defender David Luiz, who missed the game with a knee injury, should be fit to face Newcastle on Saturday.
