Timo Werner arrived at Chelsea in the 2020/21 season for a fee of £47.5 million on a five-year contract. He made his debut for Chelsea against Brighton in September. Since his arrival, he has perplexed the defenders in the Premier League with his bedazzling pace and acceleration. His off-the-ball movements led to many defenders getting dragged out of position. Now he departs Stamford Bridge to join RB Leipzig as a fan favorite. However, his time at Stamford Bridge was not all sunshine and daisies. Many misses from open play and numerous goals ruled out because of offside goals were the highlights of his career at Chelsea. This is an unfortunate and wrong assessment of his Chelsea career.
In the 2020/21 season, Timo Werner had an xG of 13.43. While this is not that great of a stat for a center-forward, it is well worth remembering that he played out of position at Chelsea. In his magnificent season with Leipzig, they played two upfront with Timo and Patrick Schick and/or Yussuf Polsen. Poulsen and Schick were tall attackers with good dribbling skills. The tall forwards played deeper to set up Timo with goals. Moreover, Werner’s off-the-ball movement dragged the defenders out of position and open up spaces. Then Timo would dribble into the space created and score a thumping goal. However, at Chelsea, Timo has played mostly on the wings as support to Kai Havertz. In the Bundesliga as well, Timo was not that effective playing in the wings.
Werner’s time at Chelsea, especially at the end, was underwhelming, to say the least. Some of the underwhelming can be attributed to bad luck. However, some of the blame lies on Werner’s shoulders as well. A lot of offsides calls to fantastic goals are bad luck, however, his constant misses from open play are his fault only. His finishing skills or, the lack thereof, have led him to become a source of mockery rather than that of adulation.
Chelsea fans adore Werner
Despite his constant misses, Chelsea fans adore Werner. This is something that has surprised Timo as well. In an interview with Sky, Sports Timo expressed his surprise on with the support. He said:
“Sometimes I don’t know why they are supporting me so much, because I’m a striker and I want to score but miss chances. It makes it so fun to play in front of the Chelsea fans. When they give the support they give me, it makes me stronger when I miss chances or have hard times. I try to give my best every game, 100% to make sure the team are happy.”
His work rate and likable personality has turned him into a player that the fans couldn’t help but root for despite his underwhelming performances. Moreover, his run that dragged Cancelo out of position in the Champions League final will be etched forever in the hearts of the Chelsea supporters
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