Werner has no reason to be frustrated at Chelsea, says Tuchel

LONDON: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel dismissed speculation that forward Timo Werner was unhappy at the club and seeking a return to Germany after failing to settle in English football, saying he had seen remarkable improvement since he took charge.

Werner has scored only two goals in his last 26 appearances but Tuchel urged the German forward to trust the process as he was on the right track.

“Timo has no reason now to be frustrated because he had an amazing match against Liverpool and then a good match against Everton with a lot of chances to score,” Tuchel told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid.

“The clear advice from us is don’t focus on the result, get your decision-making and technique right and the ball will do the rest.”

However, Tuchel admitted the lack of goals from his strikers may have had to do with his constant rotation but said players at this level are expected to deliver whenever they are called upon.

“If you arrive at elite level football, play for Chelsea, there is no time to perform. It simply does not exist,” he added.

“You are constantly in a competition with other players and there is no time to get four, five, six matches in a row to score regularly… We create enough touches in the box, chances and half chances to win the game.”

Chelsea lead 1-0 from the first leg but Tuchel said he was wary of Diego Simeone’s side who lead La Liga and have Kieran Trippier, Yannick Carrasco and Jose Gimenez back for the second leg.

“With Simeone, they are one of the toughest teams to beat, this is their characteristic – discipline, hard working and organised defence,” he said.

“They have incredible quality to attack and to play a possession game, they are a complete squad.”

Chelsea’s influential midfielders Jorginho and Mason Mount are suspended while Tuchel said Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham are out injured.

Source: Reuters