Juan Mata has confirmed that Fernando Torres turned down the option of taking a penalty against Birmingham on Tuesday night that could have ended his goal drought.
The Spain international has not scored in over 24 hours of football, but won a penalty against Chris Hughton’s men in the FA Cup clash at St Andrews.
Mata, who went on to miss the spot kick, offered Torres the opportunity to take the penalty, but this was refused.
“I asked him if he wanted to take it because he had won the penalty,” Mata told Mirror Football.
“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.
“I don’t know. Robbie [Di Matteo] put a paper with who shoots penalties and that was it,” he concluded.
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By Gareth McKnight
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