Goal.com

The Reds' goalkeeper understands why his friend and Spain team-mate left Anfield in January and believes Juan Mata will help him find his scoring touch again at Stamford Bridge

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina believes Luis Suarez could have a bigger impact at Anfield than Fernando Torres, and possibly even surpass the Chelsea striker.

The Uruguayan striker has enjoyed a largely successful first nine months in England by rising to prominence following his £22.8 million move from Ajax at the end of January.

His capture helped cushion the blow of Torres' £50m switch to Chelsea, despite Andy Carroll being drafted in as the Spaniard's direct replacement.

Reina linked up with his former team-mate in the past fortnight for Spain's friendly defeat by England last Saturday and Tuesday's draw with Costa Rica, and feels Suarez could better his friend's achievements at Anfield.

Reina said: "Fernando is top class. Luis is just as good or even better than him.

"Those players are really special. You don't find those kind of players very often so I think that the club has made a good job on signing Luis and hopefully he will be many years with us.

"Hopefully he'll score as many goals as Fernando did."

The acrimonious circumstances of Torres' departure left a bitter taste in the Kop's mouth, with many feeling betrayal at his departure just six months after pledging his allegiance to the club.

Reina was previously the subject of interest from Arsenal last year at the height of Liverpool's ownership crisis and admits he can understand why Torres chose to leave when he did.

"It was his decision [to leave]. We had to respect that. It was such a large amount of money and it was still a difficult period for the club," he admitted.

"Nothing was clear yet but for Fernando, he thought himself that it was an opportunity to keep going as a player and that's what he did.

"The only thing I can say is that I'm glad to be here and to still be a part of this football club."

Criticism of Torres' profligacy remains high on the agenda with just three goals in 22 domestic outings overshadowing his lucrative move to Stamford Bridge.

With his former club set to travel to his new stomping ground on Sunday for the Premier League clash between the sides, Reina is tipping his compatriot to pose a threat to the Reds.

"He's such a good player and will be a threat to us, but not just him," he said.

"I think they have plenty of players that can create problems and it's going to be a tough game but we have to do things right and hopefully take three important points.

"I think it's about periods. Goalscorers lives are like that. Sometimes you go through bad spells but Fernando does know how to score and he's a very good player.

"I think now with [Juan] Mata behind him and the team he's in week in, week out will deliver more goals."