Suarez And Torres - The Contrasting Styles Of Two Hattrick Heroes

When Luis Suarez was accused of racially abusing Patrice Evra, he retorted with the quote,

"I go to the field with the maximum illusion of a little child who enjoys what he does."

I finally understood what he meant by that last Saturday against Norwich. Suarez looked very much the sure-footed striker who had scored over 100 goals for Ajax. El Pistolero is a player who is either stunningly brilliant or woefully frustrating, there is no middle ground. But then it would be hard to expect him to be anything else. Hence it seemed somewhat fitting that Suarez should liken himself to a little child doing what he loves in a playground. Football is fantasy for the Uruguayan and he plays the beautiful game with a sense of child-like joy and freedom that is rarely found in the Premiership.

That's why his trio of goals truly personify the mad genius that Suarez is. Suarez could have spectacularly missed the goals that he did score and yet still bring the fans to their feet. Against Norwich, Suarez' showed amazing pace, incredible shot power and a delirious penchant for the audacious. His first two goals, scored first with the left and then the right foot were examples of how to belt the ball past keepers. His third goal, a stunning mid-field lob was the stuff of dreams and made one ecstatic Liverpool fan get on the pitch just to hug him. That's why people pay money to watch football matches, to be part of a surreal experience that Liverpool's Luis Suarez or Barcelona's Lionel Messi can bring.

Coincidentally, Fernando Torres also struck his first Chelsea hattrick on Sunday against Mark Hughes' Queens Park Rangers. Uncanny, isn't it, that Suarez and Torres should score their first hattrick for their clubs on the same weekend since their transfer. But there was a marked difference in the way Torres' hattrick was achieved. His was attained with a precision and clinicalness which have been long overdue.

Gaining confidence from his recent performances in Chelsea blue, El Nino is starting to play his part as a vital cog in Roberto Di Matteo's system. QPR could not contain the Spaniard and Torres looked very close to the one I had seen in a red shirt. Chelsea is kicking into gear and that does not augur well for Liverpool's hopes of a domestic cup double.

Torres' hattrick was achieved through controlled brilliance. He rounded Paddy Kenny to slot home his first, curled his second after pouncing on a goalkeeping mistake and finally wrapped up his hattrick by sliding a right foot shot past Kenny's outstretched arm. Methodical, decisive, clinical and most of all, confidently taken. It hasn't been too many of these since El Nino came to Chelsea, against Rangers though, the Chelsea players looked like they are now accustomed to playing with Fernando Torres.

Two excellent hattricks scored by two of my favourite Premier League strikers. But would I trade the stunning brilliance of Suarez for the clinical finishing of Torres? Most definitely not! For once, Liverpool has what Manchester United do not have - the best player in the Premier League.