Against United, there was a sign, in the way he adjusted his body to slide in his goal, that Torres, whose very name used to send defenders into a cold sweat, had climbed off rock bottom.
Further proof came at the Bridge against Premier League new boys who make up for their lack of big-game experience with whole-hearted commitment and a playing style that is easy on the eye and capable of creating goalscoring opportunities.
In the 29th minute, Juan Mata loaded the gun for the club's misfiring marksman with a dinked ball that expertly quantified the movement of Torres, who had lulled Angel Rangel into playing him onside. The striker's first touch was to chest the ball by his own feet, and, after turning with the balletic ease that Liverpool worshippers remember so fondly, his second was to send it unerringly into the far corner way beyond the grasp of Michel Vorm. It was an outstanding illustration of the centre-forward's art.
The gladiatoral roar of approval from the home fans was that bit louder than the noise which greeted their other three goals of the afternoon. They recognised how significant it was that the man in who Roman Abramovich invested so much faith was showing signs of recapturing the form that once made him the most feared striker on the planet.
Seven minutes later, Torres was heavily involved in Chelsea's beautifully executed second goal, foraging by the halfway line to pick up a loose ball and send it into the path of Ashley Cole, whose metronomic pass between backtracking defenders and midfielders sent the outstanding Ramires through on goal. The Brazilian, fast emerging as the most influential midfielder at the club, emphatically finished the first of his two carbon-copy goals of the afternoon.
Shortly afterwards, Torres undid much of his impressive work with a terrible, two-footed lunge on Mark Gower that even Andre Villas-Boas accepted deserved to be met with a red card.
Whether it was due to the adrenaline surging through his veins or, what Brendan Rodgers reckoned was the player "trying to show his intention at the moment that he's fighting for everything", it was a stupid miscalculation. Although he made minimal contact with Gower, the damage could have been far more pronounced, and the ball, close to the halfway line, was not in an area of the pitch that demanded recklessness.
It left his team to play for the majority of the match with 10 men for the second game in a week, an outcome that would not have been appreciated by his colleagues.
However, it should be remembered that Torres' acts of violence are as rare as a prosperous day for the Euro. This was his first red card in English football, the last coming in September 2006 when he was still an Atletico Madrid player.
So, amid the wild peaks and falls of the last week, where should we judge the barometer of Torres' footballing health to rest ahead of his return to Spain?
Even taking into account his brain fart against Swansea and his Ronny Rosenthal moment against United, Torres will begin the Valencia match - assuming he takes his rightful place in attack - as a far bigger threat to the opposition than he was this time a week ago.
He has rediscovered his scoring touch, his movement looks sharper and even his speed across the turf appears to have improved a few notches.
Doom-mongers might argue that by the time he is available for his next Premier League match - against Arsenal on October 29 - he will be rusty and back to square one once again.
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