Thomas Muller praises Chelsea star’s positioning in final third

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Thomas Muller praised Chelsea star Kai Havertz as he compared Germany’s attacking setup in the Euro 2020 to Bayern Munich’s.

Despite the many options, Germany boss Joachim Low have already shown his preferred front three in Muller, Havertz, and Serge Gnabry.

For Muller, playing alongside Gnabry and a few other Bayern Munich players should make adapting easier

The one biggest difference, aside from the obvious formation change, is having Kai Havertz up front instead of his reliable Bayern teammate Robert Lewandowski.

“I am travelling in the spaces in between. I feel even more in an initiating role,” Muller said about his new role with the national team (via Sport1).

“At Bayern, we play with two wingers to whom we give the ball.

“Then you have a bit more time as a centre player to look for ways and then be a finisher again.

“With Lewandowski, the understanding is there, of course.

“But Kai also penetrated very well into the back five, forced an own goal [vs Portugal].”

Chronicle view

Havertz has not just forced an own goal, obviously, as so far he has been Germany’s top scorer in the tournament with two goals.

Unlike Lewandowski who is a traditional No.9, Havertz tends to roam and often switch positions with Gnabry and Muller.

Being the first-choice centre-forward at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel certainly helped Havertz improve his positioning and timing of his runs into the box.