Fernando Torres claims 'best' Liverpool season was one fans would love to forget

Fernando Torres has claimed that his peak at Liverpool came in one of the most frustrating seasons of his time at the club. The former striker, speaking in a video posted to commemorate the anniversary of his transfer signing, said he felt most dangerous with the Reds in 2009-10.

Liverpool entered that season with immense expectations, having thrilled fans with a second-place Premier League finish the previous campaign. It all went wrong for the team, though, as the Reds crashed out of the Champions League group stage and finished seventh in the Premier League to mark a bitter end to former manager Rafa Benitez's tenure.

But when healthy enough to be on the pitch in 2009-10, Torres lit up opponents with a stunning return of 18 goals in 22 Premier League appearances. He missed the entire months of November and January because of injuries, with muscular problems eventually sapping some of his explosiveness in the ensuing years.

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"I always think this was my best season," Torres told Liverpool's official club social media account of 2009-10 while holding up a kit from that campaign. "When I was playing, the level was high until I got injured. I remember the game against Benfica in the Europa League when I scored twice.

"I got the injury in the first five minutes, but I finished the game. Afterwards I needed surgery. But it was a fantastic season."

Torres and Liverpool went on to struggle the next campaign under the watch of Roy Hodgson, with the forward making a controversial January transfer deadline move to Chelsea. While the club's financial woes at the time may have led to a rough patch for the Reds regardless, Torres avoiding injuries in 2009-10 remains a heartbreaking "What if?" for supporters. Fans would have loved to watch his partnership with Steven Gerrard a little longer.

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“To play with Stevie was special for me," Torres said. "He changed my game, he made me a better player. It was an absolute joy to play alongside him and I’ve missed playing with him every single day since we didn’t play together.”

Missing Champions League qualification for the following campaign dealt a monetary blow that contributed to humiliation in the 2010 summer transfer window. Benitez's departure was quickly followed by key cog Javier Mascherano, whose absence was felt at Anfield for many years.

Liverpool eventually bounced back to achieve greater heights than it had done throughout the Premier League era, with manager Jurgen Klopp leading a historic title charge. The club is undoubtedly in better shape now than it was at the time of Torres' departure, though a new era beckons with Arne Slot taking over for Klopp this summer.