Whoever is ultimately judged to have struck the better deals in the spending war between Chelsea and Liverpool, the London club will believe they are ahead on points going into today's meeting with Kenny Dalglish's side.
With Fernando Torres among his ranks, Carlo Ancelotti can at least be assured he has negated the threat that contributed to his team's downfall in November, when the Spain forward's two goals for Liverpool helped trigger the alarming dip in form that has left Chelsea as rank outsiders to retain their Premier League title.
Torres had a knack of scoring against his new team-mates, netting six times in seven appearances, although the Spaniard's reminder that he has twice exited the Champions League at Stamford Bridge helps reinforce the player's claim that what Chelsea lack in terms of history, they make up for in more recent success. "Chelsea, in the last few years, have proved they are one of the best and now I have the chance to join them," he says. "Liverpool have more history, but Chelsea have more options and are building a great history and future."
For Torres, the decision to leave Anfield crystalised during the opening months of the season when, already frustrated at what he believed was a succession of broken promises about plans to strengthen the squad, Liverpool stumbled through the first weeks under Roy Hodgson.
"Hodgson came with his ideas about football, his tactics and methods," Torres says. "I think maybe we never understood what Hodgson wanted or Hodgson never understood us. I think that is not his fault, he's a great man and a great manager."
The player is now anxious to move on and this afternoon will offer the first clues about Ancelotti's plans for his new recruit. The Italian has remained reluctant to divulge his starting line-up, but it will be a major surprise if Torres is held back on the bench. The focus will be how Ancelotti shapes his team, with the manager hinting he will pair Torres with Didier Drogba, with Nicolas Anelka operating in a deeper role.
Ancelotti says: "I think it is not a problem, it is a challenge. A good challenge for everyone – for myself and also for the players. I think that they are able to play together. Obviously we have to try it in the training sessions, but I think Anelka played very well against Bolton in that position behind the strikers. So this is good news."
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