Thomas Tuchel explained to Stadium Astro the instruction he gave Timo Werner against Tottenham Hotspur for Chelsea yesterday.
Chelsea edged past their city rivals via a Jorginho penalty in the first half which was won by Werner’s endeavour and Eric Dier’s subsequent rash challenge on the German.
Immediately after the penalty had been scored, Tuchel was dishing out instructions to his fellow countryman.
When asked what message he was delivering, Tuchel joked: “To score the second one and he didn’t listen.”
He continued more seriously by saying: “We had some tactical advice regarding his position. He was moving too much.
“We wanted him to be stay a little bit longer in his position. So, then we can find him in a more open position in the last line.”
Werner led the Chelsea attack but once again failed to find himself on the scoresheet. His last Premier League goal came at the start of November in a 4-1 victory over Sheffield United.
His barren run of 14 league games has been separated by a solitary strike he managed against Morecambe Town in the FA Cup third round last month.
There was certainly an improvement from the 24-year-old at Spurs in spite of his poor form. Werner took four shots, more than anyone in the tie, but none landed on target.
Nobody could deny his work rate either. It was the run-in behind Spurs defence that caused panic in their ranks and Dier’s ill-time tackle.
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Work rate is great. Persistence is admirable. But what every Chelsea fan under the sun really want to see is see Werner score a goal.
So many have spoken about once he gets one, he won’t be able to stop. Getting over that initial hurdle has proved very tricky.
Let’s hope Tuchel keeps the faith like so many of us have.
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