Sadly for the Spaniard, that was not the case.
As votes of no-confidence go, it was about as emphatic as it gets with the former Atletico Madrid and Liverpool goal machine left kicking his heels on the bench for 81 minutes.
Chelsea began the second leg in south Wales 2-0 down and desperate for goals, yet Benitez refused to unleash Torres on Swansea's defence until the game was almost up.
The manager bemoaned his side's lack of firepower in their quest to overturn a first-leg deficit, a complaint completely undermined by his failure to trust Torres to partner new signing Demba Ba in attack.
"We knew we had to score three goals, but we didn't take the chances we had, especially in the last 20 minutes of the first half," Benitez told Chelsea's website.
"We had pressure, they were dealing with it well and we have to congratulate them, we cannot change the situation again.
"I was convinced that we could score. We were on top of them and pushing and pushing, but we didn't take our chances. This was the same as in the first leg.
"We knew we had to score first to change things."
With his reputation tarnished it is hard to see any of Europe's leading club offering Torres a way out of Stamford Bridge while his wages and the fee Chelsea would demand also make a transfer window move unlikely.
So it seems that Benitez, an interim manger who may not even be at Chelsea next season, must find a way of reviving Torres if Chelsea's season is not to fizzle out completely.
