Timo Werner is one of the new ammunition purchased by Chelsea in this transfer market. The 24-year-old was redeemed for € 53 million after scoring 34 goals last season. With RB Leipzig, Werner scored 95 goals in 159 matches.
The German player deserves to level up. Joining Chelsea will be Werner’s new adventure and challenge. Playing in the Premier League with high intensity, he is predicted to be easy to adapt and can contribute a lot to Frank Lampard’s squad.
In fact, Werner has only scored one goal for Chelsea in five matches in all competitions. In the Premier League, he has not been able to add to the score for Chelsea. His contribution so far has only won two penalties, which is certainly below expectations. The Stuttgart-born player had almost scored if his strike had not hit the West Brom crossbar.
After Werner’s debut match when Chelsea beat Brighton 3-1, he explained the differences in football in the Premier League. “Yes, football in the Premier League is different, I think because of the defenders, I’ve never played against three big defenders! “Tall and big defender,” said Werner. However, the reason Werner has not been able to become the Blues goal machine is not only because of that.
A Slightly Different Structure
Except for the match against Brighton, Werner always plays on the left wing. Against Brighton, he was installed as a lone striker. It is not surprising that he commented on the big defender Brighton because Werner (181 cm) had to duel in the air against Adam Webster (191 cm), Lewis Dunk (192 cm), and Ben White (182 cm).
Lampard seemed to want Werner to get a second ball from Kepa Arrizabalaga’s pass. Of all Kepa bait, 67% were gastric bait. In contrast to last season which only reached 31%. Kepa’s target was not actually Werner but Ruben-Loftus Cheek. This indicates a slight change in tactics made by Lampard to facilitate Turbo Timo.
Unfortunately, Loftus-Cheek played so badly that he became the first player to be substituted in the 61st minute. It is also not natural to see the attacking midfielder who should be the link between the lines being the target of the hull’s pass from the defensive area. Using Werner as a lone striker will not be easy for Chelsea.
The next three Premier League matches, Werner was installed as the left wing. The actual position was not too different when he was at Leipzig. Werner is often installed as a striker in a two-striker formation. He is matched with the classic big-post striker, namely Yussuf Poulsen or Patrik Schick. Julian Nagelsmann gives Werner the freedom to operate from the left.
Not quite the same but only slightly different. Werner seems unable to adapt well. When viewed from the record of shots per match, Werner has decreased. He had to be more opportunistic in finding a position to shoot with a position at Chelsea. It is almost impossible for Lampard to use a two-striker formation given the abundance of midfielders that Werner must adjust.
There are relatively more teams playing with low blocks in the Premier League than the Bundesliga. Moreover, Werner is now defending Chelsea which has good attack quality. Not a few opponents chose to play with a low block against Chelsea and managed to gain points.
Werner finds it difficult to find space to maximize his speed when facing low blocks. This situation requires Werner to dribble in small spaces and be creative with the ball which is not the main advantage of the player with 31 appearances for the German national team.
If you look at last season’s goals, most of them were scored from fast attack schemes. Meanwhile, recently Chelsea have been slow to slow down and have been less willing to take risks, especially when facing opponents with low blocks. Chelsea often allow opponents to reorganize the defense even though Werner’s strength is to hit the opponent’s defenses that are not yet tidy.
The last match against Crystal Palace for example. The first half ended goalless, partly because Chelsea had too many passes to the side or behind. There aren’t many penetrating baits that break the opponent’s shape. Werner doesn’t seem to fit into that style of play. Throughout the match, Werner only made one shot.
Unsuitable Supply
Werner does have to adapt to some of the new things he has encountered at Chelsea, but there is nothing wrong with Chelsea facilitating Werner a little. As long as it doesn’t break the previously formed structure, a little tweaking to bring out the new player’s best play isn’t a problem.
One thing that doesn’t break the structure of the game but which does facilitate Werner is the pass supplied to him. The first 45 minutes of Werner in a Chelsea shirt show how Werner wants to be given a through ball. Werner was constantly running into the space behind the Brighton line. The move did not produce results because Chelsea players were not used to providing diagonal passes so that the timing of the bait was not right which put Werner in an offside position.
Facing Liverpool who apply a high defensive line, Chelsea should have released a lot of breakthrough bait to maximize Werner’s speed. But what happened was that Chelsea were too careful in attacking so that the potential to send the ball behind Liverpool’s line was lost. Especially Marcos Alonso who prefers to pass back even though Werner repeatedly ran in behind.
Some of the above causes Werner to often operate in the lower area. This can be seen from Werner’s 90-minute touch notes at Chelsea and Leipzig. The touch in the defensive third has increased and the touch in the area of the opponent’s defense has decreased. Something that is not ideal for a player who wants to score a lot of goals.
It is too early to label Werner as a failure at Chelsea, but it is legitimate to say that Werner did not start his career at Chelsea well. There is still plenty of time to find solutions, especially the various problems mentioned above are caused by the incomplete strength of the team.
If Hakim Ziyech is fit, Chelsea’s supply can improve. When Christian Pulisic recovers, Chelsea’s combination play can be smoother so he can break through the opponent’s low block. The left-back position which is now filled by Ben Chilwell can also provide assistance to Werner.
The international break is approaching, it’s time for Werner to evaluate what has gone wrong so far. He also had to learn things that he had never met before. Likewise with Lampard, the 42-year-old coach must find a way to make his purchase bear fruit.
It is interesting to continue to look forward to Timo Werner’s next action at Chelsea. This young German striker still has the potential to continue to develop in the Premier League. In order not to miss Timo Werner’s actions, don’t miss this season’s Premier League matches.
ASL
