Martin Keown: Mourinho Should Make Fernando Torres Chelsea's No 1 Striker

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has urged Jose Mourinho to make Fernando Torres as Chelsea's No 1 striker after his goal against Galatasaray.

The Spain international opened the scoring for the west London club in the first quarter of the game as his brilliant strike in the ninth minute gave the Blues an early lead in Turkey. However, Galatasaray managed an equaliser in the second half as Aurelien Chedjou Fongang's goal saw the first leg of the Champions League tie end in a draw.

The former Arsenal defender believes the striker's form against the Turkish champions was similar to that while he was with Liverpool. Torres enjoyed a great run with the Reds, but has failed to emulate the same form after joining Chelsea.

Keown stressed there has been a lot of negativity surrounding the Spaniard, but has urged the former Real Madrid boss to field Torres as the main striker. The 47-year-old feels that Torres will be the key player in Chelsea's success this season.

"At the start of the season there were glimpses of the Torres of old and Mourinho had him fired up and playing well. He looks as if he knows he's got his pace back and a key part of Chelsea's success now is to make sure he's their number one," Keown wrote in Daily Mail column.

"There is always a lot of negativity surrounding Fernando Torres, but Chelsea have to stick with him. He took his goal terrifically well, opening up his body to pass the ball in with his foot at an extraordinary angle.

"When you saw that technique, you wondered if Torres might fluff his lines, but he did well to squeeze it between the two bodies trying to block the ball," he added.

Meanwhile, Keown also heaped praise on Chelsea's dynamic attacking midfield trio of Eden Hazard, Willian and Andre Schurrle's display against Galatasaray.

"Where United were so static and predictable on Tuesday, Chelsea were fluid and direct. Eden Hazard, Willian and Andre Schurrle pop up all over the midfield and are anything but rigid. They cover team-mates when needed and rotate with speed and purpose. They constantly buzz around the whole midfield," Keown concluded.