Liverpool strike-ace Fernando Torres insists he can handle the rough-and-tumble of Premiership football.

Speaking to the official LFC magazine, Torres said: "When a new player comes to the league with a certain reputation or profile, opposition teams and players look to make their mark against that player.

"Chelsea are one of our main rivals and in Spain we knew all about the fantastic games that we have played against them in the last few years.

"So yes I felt a little like they were testing me and pushing me to see how I would react to things.

"It was the same when I was just a young player coming through at Atletico. I received the same kind of attention then, too.

"You have to handle yourself in the correct manner. I just got on with things and showed I cannot be intimidated.

"If I had reacted in a different way when they were trying to upset me then every defender in the league would have seen it and they would have all been trying it. It would also have meant letting down my teammates and I wouldn't want to do that.

"I just answered their questions the way I always will - I got on with playing for my team and I scored a goal. That is the best answer in those kind of situations. I take no notice of those kind of tactics.

"It does not concern me. Reading was a physical game and I scored three goals. Any time you score a hat-trick it is a great moment for any striker and that was no different.

"It is a football that I think you can really enjoy. I know that I certainly have since I arrived in England. It is what I would call an honest type of football.

"The game in Spain is very stop and go. Someone is fouled, the player goes down and the game stops for the free-kick. In this country a player will battle hard to stay on his feet and the referees will allow little things to go so that the game can be more continuous.

"I like that. It is very different to the football life I used to know in Spain but I like it a lot. It suits the way I like to play the game."