Rio Ferdinand was left unsatisfied on BT Sport by the performance of Timo Werner for Chelsea against Atletico Madrid last night.
In general, it was a terrific evening for the Blues in Bucharest.
Olivier Giroud’s superb overhead kick with 20 minutes remaining was enough to see off Atletico.
It also secured an away goal advantage that will be crucial for the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in three week’s time.
Chelsea were defensively defiant once again under Thomas Tuchel.
They didn’t allow Madrid to have a single shot on target, which is surprising considering they had Luis Suarez in attack.
Despite this impressive result, Ferdinand felt Werner’s display was missing something once again.
“It’s just frustrating watching him,” said the former Manchester United defender.
“You see clips of him and you can see what he can do.
“It’s not an easy chance but you’d like to see him get it on target and make a better connection on the ball. He just frustrates you.
“There are far too many times he’s loose in possession when building up. Or decision making when he gets into these areas here.
“Sometimes fast players have to slow their game down a little bind in their minds. They’re running so fast; everything seems to be a blur.”
Since his long-awaited Premier League goal against Newcastle United last week, Werner has been silenced at Southampton and muzzled by Madrid.
His desire cannot be disputed. The 24-year-old finds himself in good scoring positions but seems to lack conviction in his finishing.
This has perhaps been a general criticism of Tuchel’s Chelsea team far, a lack of cutting edge up front.
But they won’t mind as long as they keep the clean sheets rolling in.
The only opposition player to score past Chelsea under the German coach is Southampton’s Takumi Minamino.
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Ferdinand basically echoed the words of every Chelsea fan this season.
Werner has been infuriating at times and sometimes you’re left scratching your head how he didn’t convert that chance.
However, the generally feeling is he will come good soon. Hopefully.
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