Fernando Torres declared football's age of romance was dead as he explained the cold logic behind his move £50m move from Liverpool to Chelsea. If it is, the message has yet to reach Kenny Dalglish
Given Torres' icy assessment of exactly why he insisted on leaving Anfield, a quest for silverware as opposed to Roman Abramovich's gold, it will have come as no surprise to him that his debut ended in the ignominy of an early departure and defeat against his old club
Torres found no love off the pitch at Stamford Bridge as he endured the taunts and saw the banners of the same Liverpool supporters who idolised him a fortnight ago. On it the misery of his 65th minute substitution was compounded by Raul Meireles' winner
Liverpool's revival under manager Dalglish, back in the job he loves after a 20-year absence, provides the counter argument to the emotion-free analysis of Torres as the Scot put them in the top six for the first time this season
Dalglish gets the hearts of a club that was on its knees beating faster with every game.
When he swept back into Anfield on a wave of emotion and hope from Liverpool's supporters after Roy Hodgson's sacking, Dalglish admitted romance was nice but it would only go so far before reality kicked in
After a tentative start Dalglish is combining romance and reality with a fourth straight win and fourth successive clean sheet that resulted in the Scot navigating his way around questions about the possibility of Champions League qualification
Not even the romantics would portray this game as a classic or glowing advert for the Premier League. Too many misplaced passes, too many mistakes and too many passages of mediocre play - but Liverpool were unquestionably superior and will not dwell too long on the technicalities or the demands of the purists
The manner of Liverpool's victory, greeted with the widest smile in football as Dalglish clasped right-hand men Sammy Lee and Steve Clarke at the final whistle, was more hard evidence of a remarkable rejuvenation in just a few weeks
Torres is no longer part of that process. The sub-plots of this day made it almost inevitable that the outcome would not be neutral - Torres would either be a hero or receive a swift slap in the face for having the audacity to state in such stark terms that the grass is greener away from Anfield
It turned out to be the latter. He was greeted uproariously by Chelsea's fans but the welcome, and the term is used in its loosest form, from Liverpool supporters was hostile
He Who Betrays Will Always Walk Alone" read a banner draped from the stand, one of many including an unflattering comparison between Torres and a Liverpool actress he is unlikely to have ever heard of
Liverpool's players showed good grace and affection to him in the pre-match formalities with bear hugs for their former team-mate but once the action got under way it swiftly turned into an occasion Torres will be glad is now in the past
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