TUCHEL BACKS WERNER TO GET BACK IN THE GOALS
NEW CHELSEA BOSS SAYS DROUGHT ‘HAPPENS TO EVERY STRIKER’
THOMAS Tuchel will continue to employ a kid-gloves method to help “sensitive” Timo Werner battle past his Chelsea scoring duck, writes Nick Purewal.
Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso’s fine finishes contrasted jarringly with £53 million man Werner’s struggles, as Chelsea saw off Burnley 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues sealed just a third Premier League win in 10 matches, moved up to seventh in the table and handed new boss Tuchel his first win at the second time of asking.
RB Leipzig summer recruit Werner’s miseries extended to a return of just one goal in 17 matches in all competitions however, leaving Tuchel again to defend the out-ofsorts 24-year-old.
“He’s totally into it, he gives everything, but every striker is sensitive, and nothing helps them more than goals,” said Tuchel. “If they miss goals for a certain amount of time it’s the same for all of them. So this is nothing special for Timo, it happens to every striker in the world.
“As long as he has the impact and tries everything, like he did today, we will support him. We also missed some chances to use him in counterattacks, which is his strength, to use him with his speed.
“So we have to use him in the right way also. I think he was confident to play, but confidence is not something you can demand.
“Confidence is something that comes with good performances. As long as he lacks goals he won’t be at 100%. But it’s okay, he just has to keep going until he may find a very easy goal, to bring out the last few per cent.”
Just as in Wednesday’s goalless draw with Wolves, where Tuchel’s Blues debut ended in a frustrating stalemate, here the Blues dominated from first to last.
Unlike in midweek, however, the Blues found a way to break down a stubborn opponent, with captain Azpilicueta lifting the pressure at the end of a niggly first half.
Alonso toasted his first appearance since September with a fine late goal too, leaving Tuchel delighted to get off the mark on the win front.
“Importantly we never lost patience, we controlled the game, created a lot of chances and were very good in the counter-pressing,” said Tuchel.
Burnley failed to muster a shot on target, with James Tarkowski’s added-time effort in fact their only strike at goal.
Despite the paltry attacking return, boss Sean Dyche was not about to start fretting as the Clarets’ run of three wins came to an end.
Asked if he was concerned by the lack of goal threat, Dyche said: “Well certainly not a concern when you come to a place like this. That sometimes happens.”