Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was happy with Timo Werner’s goalscoring display in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Southampton but insisted the striker could have done even more.
It may be a surprise to some people, but the two goals Werner scored were actually his second and third in the Premier League this season.
While it is still far below what is expected from him, this performance showed that he had not completely lost his goalscoring instinct.
According to Tuchel, playing in a comfortable role he used to play at RB Leipzig played a big part in the 25-year-old’s regaining his old form.
“He could have scored more actually,” the manager told Sky Sports (via Football Daily) about Werner’s performance.
“[He had] a lot of chances, huge chances.
“We decided to play with two [strikers], [which] was his favourite position, against an opponent we knew would press high and we [could] find spaces in behind.
“So it was a match that suited his characteristic as a player very well.
“It was on him to take the chances and make a statement out of it, which he did.
“Could have scored more, but we’re happy that it was a strong [performance] from him.”
To be fair, Werner often had to play as a left winger in Tuchel’s preferred 3-4-3 structure which does not suit his direct style of play.
On the other hand, playing with two strikers in a 3-5-2 formation spells bad news for wingers, such as Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
This formation will likely also lead to even more reliance on wing-backs to provide width to the team.
It is still an option, though, and Tuchel has players like Werner and Romelu Lukaku who are very familiar with playing with a strike partner.
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