Rafa Benitez: Torres critics who quote stats dont have a clue

After scoring eight goals in seven matches to quiet his critics and joke writers a bit, Euro 2012 Golden Boot winner Fernando Torres has now gone seven straight matches without scoring -- his longest goal drought of the season. Torres has been mostly invisible over that span, which coincides with the arrival of Demba Ba, who has scored three goals in his first five matches with Chelsea.

As Chelsea run hot and cold under unwanted interim manager Rafa Benitez, fans are once again growing impatient with Torres' all or nothing streaks. Following Sunday's 2-1 win against Arsenal, Benitez -- normally a big fan of facts -- once again lashed out against Torres' critics and their stats.

From the Telegraph:

"Fernando was doing a great job," he said. "Afterwards, Demba gave us something we didn't have before.

"These people who like to quote stats and stats, they don't have any clue about what is going on.

"When you have one striker for a month and a half and cannot change, it's more difficult for the striker. When you have now two strikers, you can manage."

It's worth remembering that what constitutes a "great job" from Torres in Benitez's mind can be quite different from what everyone else expects from a striker. Upon his arrival at Chelsea, Benitez previously praised Torres for scoring a lot of goals in training and defending corners well.