Now the Kop understands why Tom Hicks and George Gillett gained such gratitude from a man they have been at war with, as they sing the praises of their new goalscoring hero.

Peace has finally broken out at Anfield at the same time as Torres confirmed his status as the real thing.

Legendary strikers over the decades at Anfield have gloried in their one-word adulation, the solitary verbal respect as a single name booms around the stadium.

The Spaniard has already joined that revered group. St John, Keegan, Dalglish, Fowler and now Torres, their names cascade down from the Kop.

Torres has reached that level of acclaim just five months into his Anfield career. He scored a sublime goal, his 11th in 17 matches, to send Liverpool on their way to a 4-0 hammering of Bolton, their fifth successive victory with 21 goals coming in that spree.

Liverpool's unbeaten league start to the campaign is their best opening run since 1991. Going unbeaten in 14 is already better than their run at the beginning of the 1989-90 campaign when they won their last title.

Torres may have started his career in England slowly after the £20million-plus move from Atletico Madrid, but he is on fire now.

Fellow countryman Jose Reina, who is grateful he is no longer on the receiving end of Torres' quality, sings the 23-year-old's praises just like the fans.

Goalkeeper Reina admits: "I was Fernando's favourite goalkeeper back in Spain, he put so many goals past me."

Now Reina can stand and watch safely from a distance as Torres creates havoc, driving Liverpool into a title-contesting position.

Reina says: "Fernando has been getting better and better over the last few weeks.

"He has become a very important player for us, he has pace, and he can now finish.

"He has the qualities to play consistently at a very high level, and now he is at that level in England.

"He is quick, strong and clever. He has great movement and can be aggressive to cope with playing against big defenders.

"He is so important. He can be a target player, but he can play other roles. Let's see how much more he can progress, I believe he will do that."

Torres has scored four goals in five games - skipper Steven Gerrard adding eight in nine - as Liverpool have started to stake a genuine claim on the title.

Reina added: "It takes time to adapt to a new league, but for him it has been easier than a lot of other players.

"It is important, though, for him to keep learning. There is still a long way for him to go yet.

"I played against him a lot in Spain, many times. He used to score a lot, I am one of his favourite goalkeepers because I have conceded many goals to him.

"Now he has become my friend and team-mate so that does not happen any more. Thankfully."

Torres has quickly won over his colleagues as well as the fans. Gerrard said: "Getting into double figures before Christmas is great for him and the team. We know if we get him chances, he will score."

Benitez, not known for praising individuals, added: "Torres scored a great goal. He has learnt well and quickly. But the team is playing better so he is playing better.

"The opposition are concentrating on him, and that leaves the space for the others to work and score."

Benitez, however, is still looking for more.

"We haven't hit the high standards that we are capable of, not just yet. We can improve a lot, we have injuries at the moment and when they are all fit we will have even more players with quality.

"It will mean we can change players during the game and for different matches to give us fresh legs to be able to maintain the level we require.

"We need to play every game with a very high tempo, and with more players fit and available we will be able to sustain that.

"To win a title it is not just about winning games and staying close.

"It is all about the small details and they can make a big difference. We can play better but we are in a very good position."

Bolton are down to fourth from bottom, and they are only kept out of the drop zone on goal difference. New manager Gary Megson is acutely aware of his problems.

He said: "We did not play well or compete anywhere near as well as we did against Manchester United, when we won the previous weekend.

"Now we have to make sure that in each and every game from now on we meet the standards we set by beating United, the way that we went about the game.

"Nothing will change from our short and long-term planning, we know what we need to bring into the club to improve us and that won't change because of one result, good or bad."