Man Utd send Chelsea's Torres for City's downfall

The Ides of March normally haunt every other club – except Manchester United.

Chelsea, Arsenal and even Newcastle, have all fallen away in March in their title run-in with the Red Devils.

This March it may be Manchester City’s turn.

And strangely it comes in the form of a striker, who until a day ago, was a ghost himself. At least a ghost of the striker he once was – Fernando Torres.

Manchester City play Chelsea on Wednesday, chasing a four-point advantage United now have.

This is a Chelsea who overcame a 3-1 deficit to Napoli. This is a Chelsea who looked poised to make the semifinals of the Champions League.

Now, City will have to face a Chelsea for whom Fernando Torres has scored. After 25 hours of football time on the pitch, nevertheless, but he has now scored.

Torres he scored his first goal in 25 hours and 41 minutes of play as Chelsea crushed Leicester 5-2 in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The £180,000-a-week hitman struck again 18 minutes later.

And going by the view of the pundits – the floodgates could well open.

Torres, 28, confessed: "I needed those goals and I've been working so hard to get them.

"This season I have been playing at a very good level but I was not scoring goals. The job of the strikers is scoring goals and if you don't do that people think you are playing bad. The main thing for me has been the support of the people.

"They are always with me and now I feel the confidence of the manager as well. It's a good time for me and a good time for Chelsea.”

Torres' last goal before this was his second in a 5-0 Champions League stroll against Belgian minnows Genk way back on October 19.

City have their problems of their own in the form of Carlos Tevez.

Is he their trump card? Or is he the double-edged sword?

By playing him against Chelsea, or even naming him in the squad, does City Manager Roberto Mancini risk a mutiny from players who have stayed faithful to the club, but will now have to make way for a tearaway rebel?

England football great Alan Shearer in his exclusive column for The Sun today believes if Manchester City do not win the title, Carlos Tevez is to blame.

The Ides of March, indeed.

Not one to miss out on the opportunity to pile on the pressure, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Chelsea are back to form. It's a really interesting, big game [versus Manchester City].”