The £50m question: Can Torres save Chelsea’s season?

ONE GAME to make a season, one last chance to save face, one last opportunity to rescue reputations; Chelsea know an unconvincing victory over Wigan is already forgotten because everything, an entire campaign, rests on a Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford tomorrow.

There was so much in Saturday’s match, won by a solitary goal from Florent Malouda, that explains why Chelsea will no longer be Premier League champions by the time June arrives; a £50m striker who cannot score, a lack of urgency in midfield, a lacklustre approach, a manager who doesn’t know his best system. But all will be forgotten if Chelsea can win at Manchester United in the competition that owner Roman Abramovich covets the most.

“Everyone knows — the manager, the players — that we are playing to save our season,” said midfielder Yossi Benayoun, who made a welcome return from a long-term Achilles injury to provide Chelsea with something to cheer in a largely forgettable performance.