Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish praises players who 'respect the club' following defeat of Chelsea

Not that Dalglish felt his club was making a point in defeating Torres and his new team so soon after his £50 million deadline-day sale. “Our incentive was to get the three points,” Dalglish said.

“Whatever someone else wants to do with their life, that’s their choice. If you want, ask the supporters what they think. I came here for three points. If Carlo Ancelotti was playing up front, I’d have wanted three points. The personnel and the opposition aren’t important to me.”

Jamie Carragher said: “I know there was a lot of speculation before the game, which hyped it up. That might make the win a little more special, but it’s three points.

“Players come and go. I’ve played against plenty of former team-mates. I played against Robbie Fowler when he went to Leeds. It’s not easy because Torres is one of the best strikers in the world. But he’s not with us so we have to focus on ourselves.”

Carragher also followed the lead set by captain Steven Gerrard in calling for Dalglish to be given the job permanently. “For me and Stevie, he is a hero to us,” he said. “If you’re asking me, I’d love him to stay as manager.

However, Dalglish said that he has not met Liverpool's owners to discuss his future. “I’m only doing what I said I would do: come in and help,” he said. “I won’t ever stand in the way of progress at this club. I’ve not had a conversation with them. Until there’s something else to discuss, that’s where we are. But we are winning games.”

Four wins and four clean sheets have lifted Liverpool to sixth in the Premier League. “Sixth is a lot healthier than 12th, which is where we were when we started,” Dalglish said. “That’s credit to the players, who have given 100 per cent. That’s down to great pride in their work and a fantastic respect for the club.”

Ancelotti defended Torres’ performance and bemoaned a decision not to award Chelsea a penalty deep into added-time for Glen Johnson’s challenge on Branislav Ivanovic. “It was a penalty,” the Chelsea manager said. “I’m not used to talking about the decision of the referee. John Terry was angry about this: the foul on Ivanovic.”

The Italian was happy with his system. “It was a good decision,” he said. “The problem wasn’t that Torres played — he did a good job on the pitch. We had difficulty finding enough space in front, because Liverpool defended very well and they put three defenders in the middle. We didn’t find the right way to attack them.

“We were too slow playing front to back. We didn’t find the space. Fernando tried to do something, used his movement and did a good job. We have to work in training to combine with the other strikers, but that’s normal. I took him off because, after 60 minutes and a very busy week, it was good for him to come off. He has experience, he has confidence, he didn’t show problems before the game. He was enthusiastic to play, excited, and it didn’t show a problem.”

Ancelotti hailed Torres as the “future” of Chelsea and said he was confident that he could fit him, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka into his team.

“These players have a lot of quality. I’ll try everything to put them together,” he said. “We could play better as a team but the right result would have been a draw.”

He agreed that, with Manchester United losing at Wolves, Chelsea missed an opportunity. “That’s why we’re disappointed,” he said. “But we have to keep going. Maybe now we have less possibility to close the gap, but we have to fight again for the title.”