Fernando Torres turned down the chance to end his goal drought when he refused to take a penalty at Birmingham, says team-mate Juan Mata.
Spaniard spurned chance to break duck against Birmingham
Misfiring Chelsea striker Fernando Torres turned down the chance to end his goal drought when he refused to take a penalty against Birmingham on Tuesday, according to team-mate Juan Mata.
The £50million frontman has not scored for the Blues since October last year after failing to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since joining from Liverpool last January.
Torres has also failed to find the back of the net in the Premier League since last September, netting during Chelsea's home win over Swansea.
Mata offered his fellow Spaniard the opportunity to break his poor run in Tuesday's FA Cup fifth-round replay triumph over Birmingham earlier this week, having opened the scoring in the 2-0 win.
But the winger, who continues to back his struggling compatriot, says Torres spurned the chance to take a spot-kick.
He was quoted as saying in the
Daily Mirror: "I asked him if he wanted to take it because he had won the penalty. He said, 'I'm not first on the list to shoot', so that's what happened.
"It was because he forced (won) the penalty and I gave him the chance."
Mata does not believe Torres lost his nerve, adding: "I don't know. (Interim boss) Robbie (Di Matteo) put a paper with who shoots penalties and that was it."
