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• Manager concerned by crowd’s tension during home games
• December’s games are key to season, says Portuguese

André Villas-Boas admitted that Chelsea had lost their way at Stamford Bridge and become anxious when they play there, after they slumped to a third home defeat in four matches and were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Liverpool.

The manager was candid in his post‑match assessment, describing the performance as “not good” and admitting that Liverpool were “superior” and worthy winners. Although he urged patience and understanding for Fernando Torres in the wake of the £50m striker’s latest anonymous display, he suggested that Didier Drogba would return in his place for Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Newcastle United.

Villas-Boas also admitted that he and the team faced their do-or-die moment next Tuesday, when they play Valencia in the final Champions League group tie. They need a win or a 0-0 draw to avoid what would be a damaging exit. The match is also at Stamford Bridge.

“Away from home, we’ve been more solid, statistically and as a team,” Villas‑Boas said. “That is a fact. At the moment at home, we’ve just not been good enough. I think we need to get our fans behind us when we play at home. We need to get the emotions right. I know, and you can feel, that Stamford Bridge has become anxious about Chelsea playing at home but we need their full support behind us. That’s the only way you can build the atmosphere to take us through this period.

“The Champions League is a competition which is life and death and this standard won’t be enough. We need to up the tempo and play that game [against Valencia] with the ultimate desire.”

Villas-Boas is pinning his hopes on his players finding form and results during a testing December. If they were to win what he suggested were six-pointers against some of their rivals, they could yet challenge for the Premier League title. He did not have to spell out the consequences of failure, although he did insist that all would not be lost.

“Regarding the Premier League fixtures, for our challenge to be alive, we need to make the most out of the December fixtures,” he said. “You know they include Newcastle, Manchester City and Tottenham. If we do that, we’ll be back on track. It will have a major impact by the end of December. We recovered two points at the weekend. But for us to continue to challenge, we need to make the most of the December fixtures. That is our challenge.

“In the situation we are in, 10 points behind, it can invert what can happen in the Premier League in four months’ time. I’m not a wizard and I won’t say what will happen afterwards can’t have an impact – the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League come into play – and March and April can be as decisive as December. But it’s a fact, given we play the top teams, that we can put our challenge back on track.”

It can be painful to watch Torres on evenings such as this and his impact was measured in the fact that the travelling Liverpool supporters hardly booed him. It was because he hardly touched the ball.

“It must come with confidence and time,” Villas-Boas said. “We believe in him and will continue to pursue his individual form. Our task, as technical staff, is to get the best out of a player so if we don’t do that we’ve failed. He faces tough competition. We’ll go back to 4-3-3 against Newcastle and he’s still going to have to compete. Didier is showing good signs of returning. Fernando has shown that ability before and he can again.”

Carling Cup 2011-12André Villas-BoasChelseaLiverpoolCarling CupDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk

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Jacob will be here from 3.30pm. Ish. In the meantime, here’s Paul Wilson on a resurgent Craig Bellamy.

Not that many people get to sign for Liverpool twice, especially when the first time became infamous for an attack on a team-mate with a golf club, but Craig Bellamy has always held Anfield and its traditions in the highest regard and when Kenny Dalglish returned as manager it quickly became apparent the feeling was mutual.

That at 32 Bellamy was the oldest of Dalglish’s signings this summer simply encouraged the manager to act quickly to make up for lost time, previous bad publicity and perceived bad attitude or not. “He’s a player I have always admired,” Dalglish said. “I’m not worried about what has happened in the past, we’ll just focus on the good bits.”

There are still plenty of those, and Bellamy was instrumental in helping Liverpool to victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week. Sunday afternoon’s visit of Manchester City pits the volatile Welshman against his last Premier League club, recalling memories of another tale of woe and communication breakdown that ended with Bellamy seeking self-imposed exile in his home country, a sort of low‑budget trailer for the fully blown Carlos Tevez saga that would soon follow.

There is one major difference between Bellamy and the equally misunderstood Argentinian, however. Should the Welshman fail to make Sunday’s starting lineup he will not sulk or strop, and should he be asked to come off the bench he will do so gladly. Because, unlike last time, and unlike Tevez at City at just about any time, Bellamy is happy at Liverpool and Liverpool are happy with him. “This now feels right, this is everything I wanted from the first time I was here,” he says. “My gut feeling last time was that it was not quite right but I ended up signing just because it was Liverpool. The way Liverpool are playing now is what I grew up with, and the opportunity to be part of that was too big a deal to turn down.”

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Premier LeagueLiverpoolManchester CityJacob Steinbergguardian.co.uk

• Johnson dedicates goal to Brad Jones’s son
• Victory at Chelsea was ‘probably best I’ve felt’

Glen Johnson has admitted that Liverpool must replicate their superb away form at Anfield if they are not to throw away the chance of breaking back into the Premier League top four this season.

Johnson’s solo goal helped to sink his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and moved Liverpool within striking distance of a Champions League spot. The 2-1 win put Liverpool level on 22 points with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in arguably the most fiercely contested battle ever to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

“Normally a team’s best form is at home,” Johnson said. “As long as we can start picking up a few more points at home and doing what we are doing away then we won’t be too far away. We haven’t been playing badly at home. We’ve created some fantastic chances and if we’d taken one of them in a few games then we’d have nine or 10 more points and it would make it a whole new ball game.”

There will be no better time for Liverpool to begin to put that right than the match against City on Sunday. Describing the game against Chelsea as “probably the best I have felt”, Johnson said: “Hopefully the injuries are behind me now.”

The 27-year-old England full-back proved that with the 87th-minute run in which he expertly controlled Charlie Adam’s crossfield ball, beat Ashley Cole and drove into the box before scoring.

“It was great to score,” said Johnson, who spent four years at Chelsea. “There was plenty of space all day and I told Charlie I was waiting 75 minutes for that pass. He’d been trying to do that all game but once was enough. It was a good goal and I’m pleased.

“I tried not to celebrate too much because I had a few great years here, but when you score a late winner like that it’s hard not to celebrate.

“We finished the stronger. We dominated the first half but Chelsea are a great side and we expected a reaction. Chelsea will have periods whoever they play when they are on top and I thought we dealt with it quite well other than the goal.

“We showed great character to bounce back. Last time out [against Swansea City] was disappointing so to come here and win was fantastic. We are aiming for the top four – that’s what we are fighting for.”

Johnson’s goal was his first since February and he dedicated it to the goalkeeper Brad Jones’s five-year-old son Luca, who lost his long battle with leukaemia last Friday. “I can’t even begin to know what Brad is feeling,” said Johnson.

LiverpoolChelseaPremier League 2011-12Premier Leagueguardian.co.uk