TUCHEL KEY TO FINDING TIMO
Werner improving under German boss as Chelsea show their steel in Sheffield
THE dEstiny of the title might seem increasingly certain but when a side as inconsistent and frequently flawed as Manchester United sit second, everything else is up for grabs. Chelsea could be the beneficiaries.
the manner of their third win in four games under thomas tuchel will not send waves of fear through the nation but the side look less baffled under new management and imbued with some kind of purpose.
Where on earth the timo Werner who so recently set the continent alight has vanished to remains a mystery but at least he no longer looks like a striker stuck on the wing. that’s what Frank Lampard turned him into.
the points were in play until the bitter end, when a Billy sharp free-kick was clawed away by Edouard Mendy, but Chelsea rise to fifth place.
‘How could it help to talk about it?’ said tuchel when the notion of a top-four finish was raised last night. ‘so now the guys put themselves in the situation where we are the hunters for the teams in front. We are close.’
the German boss (below) is not a dramatic touchline presence. He observes more than he speaks. When Reece James’ positioning could have been better in the first half, it was Mateo Kovacic who took him through the finer details during a break in play. there were times in a first half which Chelsea dominated when the tuchel methods seemed to amount to little more than letting Kovacic and Jorginho dictate the ebb and flow. they provided the only ambient heat on this most bitter night — gesticulating, shifting the ball and running with it to find space.
Further up the field, the final Chelsea ball in the first half was often poor. there was no one in the six-yard box and Olivier Giroud’s deployment did not work. Chris Wilder’s side, still fighting like their lives depended on it, offered little way through.
Chelsea have spent money to be better than this and the club’s fervent hope is certainly that tuchel will find a way to coax out of Werner qualities that Lampard never found. Ralf Rangnick, who coached and mentored Werner at RB Leipzig, is close to tuchel. Perhaps that will create a way through.
the evidence of an immediate such impact on the 24-year-old was not emphatic, yet there were some glimmers of light.
Werner’s speed of thought was evident early on, when he ran on to a ball Kovacic had clipped over for him and lifted it over the oncoming Aaron Ramsdale. it took an excellent recovery run from Chris Basham to clear.
Werner switched to the right flank but it was back down the left where he looked at his best. After an exchange of passes with Kovacic, Werner advanced in the left channel to take a Ben Chilwell pass and, instinctively sensing Mount’s presence to his right, weighted a pass which the Englishman drove home to send Chelsea ahead. it was a moment of comedy defending which allowed Wilder’s side back into the game early in the second half, when Oli McBurnie was allowed to run through 15 yards to the Chelsea box and tried to play in Oli Burke. Antonio Rudiger, trying to tidy, slipped the ball past his own goalkeeper. But of more concern to tuchel would be the sight of John Fleck, driving through four Chelsea players to test Mendy.
it took an equivalent act of defensive ineptitude from the home side to put Chelsea back ahead, within four minutes. Kean Bryan’s under-hit backpass allowed Werner to race in and seek to round Aaron Ramsdale, who brought the striker down. Jorginho converted the penalty, awarded by VAR.
it is beginning to look like a losing battle for Wilder, whose side remain 12 points from safety, despite much improved performances of late and this display, for a point would not have been unwarranted. ‘there’s a feeling they can win games,’ reflected Wilder. ‘now they have to show more quality in big moments and more belief.’
tuchel was musing about Werner. ‘i feel him stronger and stronger every day,’ he said. ‘today he was more free and i could really feel him on the pitch. He was absolutely in the game mentally and physically. He was decisive. if he can continue like this, the goals will come, for sure.’ SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Ramsdale 6; Basham 6, Egan 6.5, Bryan 6 (Sharp 68min, 7); Bogle 6, Lundstram 6.5, Norwood 6 (Brewster 86), Fleck 7.5, Lowe 7; Burke 5.5 (McGoldrick 62, 6), McBurnie 6. Subs not used: Foderingham, Jagielka, Osborn. Scorer: Rudiger 43 (og). Booked: Basham. Manager: Chris Wilder 6.5. CHELSEA (3-4-1-2): Mendy 7; Azpilicueta 6, Christensen 7, Rudiger 6.5; James 6, Jorginho 7, KOVACIC 8, Chilwell 6 (Alonso 62, 6); Mount 7; Giroud 5.5 (Hudson-Odoi 62, 6), Werner 6.5 (Kante 75, 6). Subs not used: Kepa, Abraham, Zouma, Ziyech, Gilmour, Emerson. Scorers: Mount 43, Jorginho 58 (pen). Booked: None. Manager: Thomas Tuchel 7. Referee: Kevin Friend 6.