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• Liverpool’s fourth consecutive win lifts them up to sixth
• Chelsea beaten and Fernando Torres substituted

Fernando Torres became the latest victim of Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool renaissance last night after the Spaniard’s eagerly awaited debut as a £50m Chelsea player ended in deflation and a 1-0 defeat at the hands of former team-mates.

The striker’s first appearance for his new club veered horribly off script as he was snuffed out by the impressive Jamie Carragher and substituted just after the hour. The travelling support had barracked his every touch but by the end were too busy rejoicing in Raul Meireles’s fourth goal in five matches that confirmed the recovery instigated by Dalglish since he took over last month.

This success was achieved without the input of Liverpool’s own new arrivals, the £23m Luis Suárez or the £35m Andy Carroll, with Carragher subsequently leading the calls for Dalglish to be handed the job full-time. “I have great respect for Roy, so I’d never say ‘things have changed for the better’ and that type of stuff,” said Carragher. “As a club and as players we didn’t do enough to help the manager out – the performances weren’t good enough and obviously the managers take the brunt of it.

“But things have improved now and Kenny coming has got everyone onside. It’s not our decision if he gets the job. That’s up to the club owners. But for everyone, especially me and Stevie [Gerrard], he’s a hero to us. The results are obviously going very well. If you’re asking me, obviously I’d love him to be the manager.”

By inflicting Chelsea’s fifth defeat here in 132 league games Liverpool registered a fourth successive victory without conceding a goal, to rise to sixth place, only six points from the fourth Champions League qualification place. They can now aspire to returning to Europe’s elite competition, potentially at Chelsea’s expense.

“Good players come and go,” said Carragher when asked about his former team-mate. “We’ve played against plenty of players [who have left] – we used to play against Robbie Fowler when he went to Leeds – and it’s not easy. You know the quality they have and Fernando is one of the best strikers in the world. I’m sure he’ll prove that for Chelsea but he’s not with us now. We have to focus on our own team.”

Dalglish was just as reluctant to talk about the departed Spaniard, whose transfer had so dominated the week and the build-up to this occasion. “I’m not here to talk about someone else’s players but I don’t think any of their forwards will be too happy about the game they had,” he said. “We signed two fantastic players in Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll and we are looking forward to seeing them play, if they can get in the team. The way the boys played today it won’t be easy for either of them.

“The Torres situation wasn’t an incentive for us. Whatever someone else wants to do with their life, that’s their choice. We’ve said all we have to say on the lad. I came here to win three points. If Carlo Ancelotti had been playing up front for Chelsea, I’d have still wanted the three points. The personnel and the opposition aren’t important to me. We just look at ourselves and sixth place is a lot healthier than 12th, where we started.

“Now that’s four clean sheets and 12 points from four games, so everyone connected to Liverpool is very happy. As for my role long-term, I’m only doing what I said I would do: come in and help. I won’t ever stand in the way of progress at this club. I’ve not had a conversation with the owners and, until there’s something else to discuss, that’s where we are.”

Ancelotti was left to reflect on a damaging defeat, with an opportunity to eat into the 10-point deficit from Manchester United at the top passed up. Chelsea have now lost as many games this season as Birmingham City, a side who hoisted themselves out of the relegation zone only with victory at West Ham yesterday, and the manager was left complaining that Glen Johnson’s late barge on Branislav Ivanovic went unpunished.

“We’re disappointed because we had an opportunity to close the gap but now we’re still the same distance from United,” said Ancelotti. “But we have to keep going. Maybe now we have less possibility to close that gap but we have to try again. We still have to try to fight again for the title.

“The right result today would have been a draw but this is football. Liverpool were strong defensively and we were not able to find the solution and we played too slowly from the back. But we need to give Torres time to adjust. He has experience, he has confidence and was enthusiastic to play today. In him and David Luiz we have bought players with fantastic abilities who will be the future of this club.”

ChelseaFernando TorresKenny DalglishLiverpoolDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk

• Liverpool will not be distracted if Torres plays, says Dalglish
• ‘We are more important than any player they have got’

Kenny Dalglish believes Liverpool will not be distracted by their reunion with Fernando Torres tomorrow as they have already moved on from the Spain international’s acrimonious £50m departure to Chelsea.

Liverpool are understood to have sought a gentleman’s agreement with Chelsea that Torres would not make his debut for the champions at Stamford Bridge. The request was rejected shortly before the 26-year-old completed a British record transfer, yet Dalglish claims Liverpool are not preoccupied with their former idol and are relishing an opportunity to ruin his debut.

“We are more important than any player they have got,” said Liverpool’s caretaker manager, who has overseen a run of three consecutive league wins. “We’ll play against whoever they put on the pitch. These players know the football club is more important than any individual, whether he has been and gone or is here now. I would expect they would relish the battle against him but they have competed brilliantly against everyone since I have come in. If our lads are competitive we won’t have a problem, but there’s no extra spice for me.”

Dalglish has sought to diffuse the anger over Torres’s exit at Liverpool but admitted he did feel let down by the timing of his leading goalscorer’s move, with the striker submitting a transfer request three days before the window closed. The Scot attempted to persuade Torres not to leave on Sunday but, having failed, believes the combined £57.8m capture of Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez has allowed Liverpool to move on.

“I spoke to him. I did what you thought I would do, what everybody hoped I would do,” Dalglish said. “I did my job properly and correctly and we were disappointed that he left, but he’s gone. We were disappointed with the timing but we have to get on with it. The most important thing is the way we reacted to it. We didn’t mope around. We got out and did the business. That is great credit to everybody. Our lives will all move on, in different directions, but they will all move on.”

The Liverpool vice-captain, Jamie Carragher, has said it suited all parties for Torres to leave, the defender having believed since last summer that the Spanish striker had grown disillusioned at Anfield. Carragher said: “We always felt that at some stage this season or maybe the end of the season this may happen. I think for us it was probably better that Fernando moved on, if he didn’t 100% want to be here or it was going to happen in the summer.”

Torres insisted he had joined “a big club” in Chelsea to win the first domestic trophies of his career but Dalglish has questioned whether Liverpool’s slide, particularly out of the Champions League, was the sole cause of the striker’s disaffection. “If somebody wants to leave a football club they will always find a reason,” he said. “You cannot cover all eventualities. Our determination is to get back up to where we were before. That’s where we want to go.

“But even when you get there, look at Graeme Souness, he left for Sampdoria after we had just won the European Cup. It does not matter where you stand, whether you win trophies or you don’t win trophies, footballers will always find a reason to go. Movement is part and parcel of the game. We just have to expect it, deal with it as best as you possibly can and get on with your life.

The Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente has confirmed he was on Liverpool’s list of possible replacements for Torres and a possible £30m move to Anfield was discussed in the last transfer window. “Representatives from Liverpool arrived in Bilbao and had talks with the leadership of our club, but obviously the club did not want to sell me,” Llorente told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca. “At the moment my football future is associated with Athletic. There are clubs prepared to pay £30m but that is what football is. It’s mad.”"

LiverpoolFernando TorresKenny DalglishAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Chelsea’s captain says Torres and Luiz have lifted the club
• ‘There is a spring in our step … it sets a massive tone’

John Terry has told Chelsea’s rivals to “fear us” after the club completed deals for Fernando Torres and David Luiz.

Both players arrived too late to face Sunderland last night, but Terry believes their arrival on Monday for a combined fee of £75m provided the inspiration for the 4-2 win at the Stadium of Light.

“To sign Torres and Luiz is a huge statement for the club,” Terry told the London Evening Standard.

“It has let everyone know we’re in the market again, we’re buying and competing with Manchester City, who have been spending an awful lot.

“There is a buzz around the camp and it is great that we’re in the market again for two massive signings.

“Everyone has been going on about the ageing players and we have just brought in two very young players who are hopefully going to be around the club for a long time. They can bring so much going forward and defensively.

“No-one is getting too carried away but everyone is upbeat. There is a spring in our step, there is a boost around the club worldwide, not just England. It sets a massive tone.

“From a club point of view, reading things like the Bolton quotes that they didn’t fear Chelsea no more – we say don’t fear us at your peril.”

Terry said the arrivals will make players compete harder for their places in the first team.

“Everyone is fighting for places with some big games coming up. For myself, for the other defenders and the strikers it is very good competition and that’s very important at a big club. It gives the manager great options and very difficult ones at that.

“You want to get training and playing with these guys and hopefully stay in the team.”

Terry said he was delighted that he will no longer have to face Torres, who has a record of seven goals in eight appearances against Chelsea for Liverpool. The striker is expected to make his debut against his former club on Sunday.

“I’m delighted Fernando is on the same side now. We have had some great battles. I was very impressed when he made his debut against us and scored.

“He is one of the strongest out there. His pace is frightening, his heading is unbelievable for his height and his finishing is top drawer, as we have seen against us a few times.”

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed there is no agreement in place with Liverpool preventing Torres from facing them at the weekend and he will monitor the Spaniard in training over the next few days before deciding whether to include him.

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