Italian press: Torres can’t afford to fail against Verona

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Fernando Torres is already under pressure early on in his loan spell at AC Milan and reports suggest this weekend’s Verona game could be crucial.

A two-year loan to AC Milan was supposed to be a chance for Chelsea striker Fernando Torres to escape the pressure cooker of the Premier League, but Serie A seems to be fairly similar.

The Spanish marksman arrived to great fanfare and the level of expectation at San Siro has been tough to match so far.

Torres has just one goal to his name against Empoli and met with some harsh criticism for his performance against Chievo.

If Torres is to be seen as first-choice by coach Pippo Inzaghi, he will need to beat competition for the spot from former Liverpool target Stephan El Shaarawy – a huge talent who is just recovering from a series of injuries.

And Italian free newspaper Leggo believes that Inzaghi is willing to give Torres another shot at leading the line against Verona, but he will turn to El Shaarawy should he fail to deliver.

Should El Shaarawy remain fit, he could replicate his scoring form of the 2012-13 campaign and that would leave Torres out in the cold.

At this juncture in his career, it would be unthinkable for Torres to be cooling his heels on the Italian side’s bench, so the pressure is on to find the net this weekend.