Torres in dreamland as barren spell is ended

"Fernando Torres, he scores when he wants," sang the Chelsea fans after 67 minutes, borrowing Arsenal's paean to the prolific Robin van Persie. It had been 25 hours and 40 minutes since Torres last scored, a barren stretch of Kalahari proportions.

Not since October 19 against Genk had Torres found the mark. Winter had come and gone. The trees had shed and regained their leaves. Even the protesters had come and gone outside St Paul's. Torres was risking rivalling "The Mousetrap" for London runs. Then, like London buses, two goals came along at once and the blond-streaked Spaniard was smiling again.

Fittingly, the audience for Torres's return to the scoring charts was an all-star sporting cast including Boris Becker, Peter Schmeichel, Gary Lineker and Stuart Pearce. Ashley Cole, who was rested in advance of Wednesday's game at Manchester City, looked on, resplendent in a smart jacket over a James Dean T-shirt.

They will be selling "I was there" T-shirts here next, celebrating Torres's goals. "I needed those goals," Chelsea's No.9 said. "I'd been working so hard to get those goals and in the last month the team is much better than before. We are more committed and I think we have shown in the last two or three games that we can do things in a good way. I'm feeling much better. I was playing good but I wasn't scoring goals. But I found the net today so it's a good day for me. I feel happy."

He agreed that it was not the best touch for the first goal. "Well, you're desperate, desperate so you're not going to relax,'' said Torres of his arrival at the end of a super build-up involving John Obi Mikel, Daniel Sturridge and Raul Meireles. "It's a good team move. Many passes, counter-attack. Good transition and good finish into the corner. The main thing is we are making more chances. I think maybe this season I am playing at a very good level but I was not scoring goals in this period and the job of the striker is to score goals.

"So if you don't do it then the people think you are playing badly but for me the main thing is the support of the people. They have all been with me. The team-mates, the staff. I feel the confidence of the manager now."

Such a sentence could be construed as criticism of Andre Villas-Boas, who never fully understood how much the misfiring Torres needed reassurance. Yet Roberto Di Matteo clearly favours Didier Drogba, who made only the bench as Chelsea kept one eye on the Etihad. With seven changes ahead of Wednesday's trip, Chelsea started slowly, sloppily, lacking the urgency that swept Napoli aside so memorably last week. The understudies briefly fluffed their lines.

Meireles fouled Jermaine Beckford just outside the area but Lee Probert waved play on. Neil Danns, excellent throughout, then played in Beckford, who shot wide.

Chelsea shook off their cloak of sloth. When Juan Mata curled a corner, Gary Cahill headed in before lifting his top to reveal a vest with the message for his stricken old Bolton Wanderers team-mate - ''Pray 4 Muamba''. To the relief of all, Probert wisely decided against a caution. Let us hope such common sense and compassion does not incur any criticism in the assessor's report.

Chelsea's second soon arrived. Torres outstripped Richie Wellens down the right, using a trick to gain a yard and then a flick of the accelerator to motor clear before squaring to Salomon Kalou, who steered the ball calmly past Kasper Schmeichel.

Still the blue waves rolled towards a Shed end that belonged to Leicester's wonderfully voluble fans for the day. As Torres attempted to relocate his penalty-box satnav, Leicester finished the second half strongly. Beckford, a former Chelsea youth-team player, twice threatened. Then Cahill dawdled, gifting possession to Danns, who was denied only by a magnificent stretching save from Petr Cech.

And then it came. Nirvana. Shangri-La. The end of an era. The goal. Good move too. The ball flowed from Mikel to Meireles, who exchanged passes with Sturridge before stroking the ball from right to left to Torres. Two touches later and it was in the net. Torres followed the ball in, as if to check it was really there. It was.

Inevitably, his confidence restored, Torres was a completely different creature. Although far from back to anywhere near his best, Torres was moving more freely, playing with instinct rather than inhibition. He shot over and then outmuscled Wes Morgan, not the easiest task.

Chelsea's defence then decided to go through one of its uncertain phases. When Danns drove through the middle, David Luiz and Cahill backed off, encouraging the Leicester midfielder to let fly. Cech was beaten but not the post, the ball rebounding for Beckford to play the poacher, finishing first time.

Then it was back to the Torres show. From a Meireles corner, Torres's run totally caught out Paul Konchesky, giving him the yard of room to flick a terrific header past Schmeichel. After Ben Marshall made it 4-2 with a powerful shot from 25 yards, Chelsea simply broke upfield, Malouda releasing Torres, who could have gone for hat-trick glory but selflessly rolled the ball across for Meireles to apply the coup de grace. Chelsea are at Wembley. Torres is in dreamland.