Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said his tactics might have had a negative impact on Timo Werner’s goalscoring form but insisted that they will come up with solutions.
In his first interview with Chelsea back in July, Werner said that the fast Premier League football suits him because being fast is his “speciality”.
That is very obvious to see. The 24-year-old can pretty much outpace most defenders in the league.
But then teams stopped giving him the space to run into, and he has not been as impactful as he would have hoped.
His goal against Newcastle earlier this month ended his 14-game goal drought in the league but that was only his second goal in six starts under Tuchel.
The Chelsea manager has now admitted that his possession-based football might have hindered the Germany international.
“Maybe it is our fault because we have a lot of possession and we push opponent teams very, very deep in their half so spaces are not too big,” Tuchel explained (via Goal).
“The biggest strength of Timo is to attack the space behind the last line.
“So it is maybe also our fault in the dominant game that we play in the moment, [that] it is very natural that the spaces are closed by the opponents.”
Tuchel used the win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as an example — how Diego Simeone’s men were very good at closing the space.
“This is not exactly the opponent that you wish for Timo to show all his skills, so what is left for him is to not lose faith and work for the team,” he added.
“We are reflecting a lot about this and working a lot with him.
“There are also solutions in tight spaces to use his speed in the first metres, to use his acceleration.
“But it is not easy for him and I can totally see this and it is why I am very patient and very supportive.
“And I believe in his potential and character and of course his goalscoring skills.”
Chronicle view
It was always going to take time for Werner to adapt to the possession-based football under Frank Lampard, and even more so under Tuchel.
To put it into perspective, RB Leipzig had a possession percentage of 54.1% on average in 2019/20 (Whoscored), Chelsea averaged 60% under Lampard and 69% in the six games under Tuchel (Sky Sports).
Obviously, having more possession is usually an advantage.
But when Chelsea are forcing the opponents to sit back and defend with nine to ten men behind the ball, it is unlikely they can unleash Werners’ full potential.
On a positive note, Tuchel has already had the experience on how to use these fast goalscorers, such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund and Kylian Mbappe at PSG.
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