Micah Richards admitted on BBC Five Live’s Monday Night Club that Chelsea could not have achieved as much without Timo Werner’s willingness to run in behind defences.
Thomas Tuchel has transformed the Blues into an almost unrecognisable side from the one Frank Lampard left him in January.
They very rarely look like conceding- or being defeated for that matter- and are beginning to strike up a fine balance in attack.
Built on a solid base, Chelsea have the pace and precision to penetrate any opponents without the fear of being turned over in possession.
Richards rallies for Werner
Richards reserved a special mention for Werner’s work rate off the ball that was so crucial to Tuchel’s tactics.
“We need to talk about Werner,” said the former Manchester City defender.
“He’s been getting a lot of abuse online. But the runs he makes for this Chelsea team are just incredible.
“Without him, they wouldn’t be able to play the way they play. The best counter attacking team in Europe.
“Every time they go forward, they look like they are going to score.”
Turbo Timo
For all Werner’s apparent woes, he remains Chelsea’s joint top scorer (12) and chief assister this season (14).
The £45m (Sky Sports) man may not have reached his RB Leipzig levels, but he’s certainly contributed more than most have credited him for.
Because the Blues play without a traditional centre-forward, the onus is on Tuchel’s front three to disrupt defenders with clever movement.
There aren’t many better in the business at that than Werner.
His speed and timing at running into spaces is often unprotectable.
What does let the German international down is the frequency he is flagged offside.
Perhaps without VAR he would escape such tight calls. In the modern game, this is unavoidable.
When he does get it right, Chelsea always look like they can carve out a chance.
With Werner in full flight, the Blues are a very scary proposition.
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