Torres ends his goal drought but Hodgson fears Spanish call-up

Liverpool 1 West Bromwich Albion

The bleached blond locks have gone and the flat brown hair which Fernando Torres now wears in their place provides a sense of the ascetic spirit that pervades Anfield these days. Straitened times in every way.

For well over an hour yesterday, the side's hard labour for a single goal against a club who leaked six at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago seemed to provide new evidence of the need for lowered horizons at Liverpool. Then the club, who had spent a mere £11m all summer before the Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles' arrival for about half the money cashed by Javier Mascherano's departure to Barcelona, were reminded that the most important feat of the past six weeks was persuading Torres to stay.

The Spaniard's goal was his first in the League since his two here in the 3-0 win over Sunderland on 28 March and one of wonderful technical execution: after his left-foot pass which put Dirk Kuyt into a promising left channel, Torres lurked for the return ball and volleyed it home right-footed, low and hard.

But the Spaniard's celebration was not effusive – like he knew that this was not enough and that the future at Anfield, still bereft of the new owners Torres was told about before committing his immediate future to the place, is an uncertain one.

Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool manager, last night personally contacted the Spanish FA to ask that the national coach Vicente del Bosque refrain from calling up Torres up for the nation's Euro 2012 qualifier in Liechtenstein, on Friday, and the friendly in Argentina four days later, so depriving him of two vitally needed weeks further to recuperate from the knee injury which affected his World Cup.

"The more our sports scientists can do to build up his strength and give him the very good pre-season he needs, it will be good for his future," said Hodgson. "If he can't it will affect him negatively. We can only ask the question [of Spain] and propose that this is the best option for the player himself."

After Torres's 18 months of injury problems, Hodgson enters the last 48 hours of the transfer window still looking for a back-up striker for the Spaniard, though he last night ruled out the £13m-rated PSV forward Ola Toivonen. The chances of a move for Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez also seem slim.

The mitigating factor for a performance which, if a measure for the season, will leave Liverpool well adrift of the top four, is that Hodgson's side are clunking through transition. Meireles, the 27-year-old defensive midfielder who will take the No 4 jersey freed by Alberto Aquilani, heading on loan to Juventus, was presented before kick-off following his £10.7m move from Porto. Paul Konchesky, who watched the game from the stand, will complete a £3.5m move from Fulham providing Liverpool's 18-year-old striker Lauri Dalla Valle passes a medical to head the other way.

Milan Jovanovic, another new arrival, showed fleeting signs of promise on both flanks, though the real heroes of this game were Jonas Olsson, the central defender whose interception of one lofted first-half pass from Steven Gerrard was sublime, and his partner Gabriel Tamas.

Gerrard initially sought out Torres so unremittingly that he seemed to have eyes for no other player on the pitch, though the third-minute pass-and-go move that concluded with Torres cutting into the area on his right foot and curling a shot at a comfortable height for Scott Carson was as good as it got.

Torres had three other first-half chances, though none as threatening as the awkward low shot from Marc-Antoine Fortune, who came straight into Roberto di Matteo's side after his move from Celtic. The West Bromwich Albion manager, who confirmed his club are in talks with Wigan midfielder Paul Scharner, was right to feel disappointment at the end.

Liverpool might have had two more after Torres's goal. Carson did well to smother the Spaniard's threat after Gerrard's cross provided a point-blank chance. Right-back Gonzalo Jara's deliberate handball in the area should have elicited a penalty before James Morrison was dismissed for a horrible hack at Torres' shin.

Hodgson reflected that "if we are going to have a good season, it is because players like Torres and Gerrard can do things that other players cannot do". But the challenge is the usual one: other players are needed to lift the mood of purgatory.

Match facts

Liverpool 4-4-1-1: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger; Kuyt, Lucas, Poulsen, Jovanovic (Rodriguez, 60); Gerrard; Torres (Babel, 87). Substitutes not used Jones (gk), Pacheco, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Kelly.

West Bromwich Albion 4-1-4-1: Carson; Jara, Olsson, Tamas, Shorey; Mutumbu; Odemwingie, Morrison, Dorrens (Tchoyi, 76), Brunt; Fortune (Wood, 82). Substitutes not used Myhill (gk), Ibanez, Reid, barnes, Cox.

Sent off Morrison (86).

Referee L Probert

Attendance 41,194.

Man of the match Jovanovic.