sometimes it is easy to forget that there is more to Timo Werner ’ s game than comedy misses, doomed dribbles and an inability to stay onside. Labelling the ahead a flop would be an hyperbole. Werner has his uses in certain scenarios and, for genuine devotees, there will always be that bait run in Porto – the moment when Turbo Timo zipped from good to left, pulling Manchester City ’ s defense out of shape, and made the space for Mason Mount to send Kai Havertz through to score Chelsea ’ s achiever in the Champions League final. You had to appreciate the unselfishness. On the one pass Werner had been at his most infuriating earlier in the even, bungling a serial of inviting opportunities to give Chelsea the lead. On the early, look at what he does without the ball. Look at the hurrying, the compress, the boundless enthusiasm ; only then will you develop a true appreciation of Werner ’ s value to Thomas Tuchel, who is so far to give up hope of making it make for his unlucky £47.5m forward. Tuchel is still trying to find the answer and Chelsea ’ s director is not alone in volition his fellow german to succeed. Supporters like Werner, who has become a cult hero at Stamford Bridge, because he is all heart. They admire his ceaseless optimism in the face of adversity. They loved that the 25-year-old keep going after having a goal gratingly ruled out against Southampton survive month – the 16th clock he has been denied by government officials since he moved to England in 2020 – and got his reward by scoring the critical second base finish in a 3-1 gain.

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Abramovich attends first Stamford Bridge game since 2018

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Roman Abramovich has attended his first Chelsea match at Stamford Bridge in more than three years. Chelsea ’ s owner was at the stadium to watch Thomas Tuchel ’ s slope draw 1-1 with Manchester United on Sunday. His presence was not picked up by television receiver cameras. Abramovich had not been to a game at Stamford Bridge since a check in his application for a newfangled UK visa led him to withdraw it in 2018. The russian billionaire, who bought Chelsea in 2003, took up israeli citizenship. The significance of his bearing at the United game is indecipherable. Abramovich was besides in London final midweek and there was meditation he would be portray when Chelsea hosted Juventus in the Champions League last Tuesday. He had visited to host Israel ’ mho president, Isaac Herzog, at a little event at Stamford Bridge as depart of Chelsea ’ s political campaign against anti-semitism. however Abramovich missed the Juventus plot because of a charity date in Moscow. Abramovich had not attended a Chelsea game since watching them kill Manchester City in the Champions League final in Porto last May. It is indecipherable whether he used his latest tripper to meet Thomas Tuchel. Jacob Steinberg

Was this helpful ? Thank you for your feedback. The problem, though, is that the other stuff is hard to ignore. There are harsh edges to Werner ’ south bet on and the common sense he is not cut out for the Premier League grew when he toiled during Chelsea ’ s 1-1 draw with Manchester United, who efficaciously negated the early RB Leipzig ahead by denying him quad to run behind and reasoning he was never going to hurt them by getting on the end of a cross. “ Poor, ” was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink ’ mho summation of Werner ’ s performance. The former Chelsea striker, who was in the Sky Sports studio, was unimpressed with his work on and off the ball and was critical of a bad miss in the second one-half. “ You ’ re a No 9, ” Hasselbaink said. “ You ’ re going to be judged on the opportunities that you get and what you do with it. It was not good adequate. He keeps on missing adult chances. ”Timo Werner, seen here easily losing the ball against Manchester City in September, has struggled to convince since his move to Chelsea last year. Timo Werner, seen hera easily losing the ball against Manchester City in September, has struggled to convince since his move to Chelsea last class. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian The extravagance will not have escaped Tuchel ’ south attention. He had seen convinced signs in education and Werner had come off the judiciary to score a tap-in during Chelsea ’ s 4-0 succeed against Juventus. It seemed like a dear moment to give Werner a luck to play up front. He had been finishing well in train and, with neither Havertz nor Romelu Lukaku ready to start, Tuchel decided to place his faith in him. It did not work extinct. Werner was easily shackled by United ’ s reserve centre-backs, Victor Lindelöf and Eric Bailly, and he never looked like scoring. His movement was away, his dribbling miss conviction, he struggled to link the play and there was little surprise when he spurned his well-defined chance, volleying wide when he should have hit the target.

ultimately it was heavily to shake off the sense that Werner will never be a long-run solution through the middle for Chelsea. Although Tuchel defended him after the game, pointing out that he lacked distinctness after coming back from a hamstring injury, his patience has limits. This can not go on indefinitely. Prolific in the Bundesliga, Werner has seven league goals since moving to England and there are times when he merely looks out of place at Chelsea, particularly as they have veered away from counterattacking football this season and become more of a possession team. That fault makes it even harder for Tuchel. Werner ’ randomness biggest asset is his speed on the bankrupt. sacrifice outer space, he can surge forward and roll balls across for others to finish. As an inside-left forward, he can be effective. He thrived in that function for Leipzig, playing off a big target man, and he could so far strike up an understand with Lukaku. Yet Werner is not a insidious creator. If teams sit back against Chelsea, it is hard to make a case for him starting in attacking midfield when Tuchel besides has Mount, Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech. The challenge has changed. Chelsea are the hunt, not the hunters this season. They are top of the league and, with opponents showing Tuchel ’ s team more deference, Werner is running out of prison term to prove he can rise to the challenge of breaking down a stubborn defense .