RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has reflected on his time at Chelsea and blamed the actions of then-manager Thomas Tuchel for his struggles.
The German international joined Chelsea ahead of the 2020/21 campaign and struggled after making a bright start.
Werner lost his composure in front of goal. He missed 18 big chances and only netted six goals in his first Premier League campaign.
Tuchel joined halfway through that campaign and led the club to the Champions League title. Werner played 12 games in that run, scoring four goals and assisting two.
Chelsea were dissatisfied with his output and overall play and signed Romelu Lukaku for £97 million the following summer.
“The biggest problem was that he put a striker like Lukaku in front of me in the second season after I won the Champions League and after I played almost every game,” Werner said (via Sport1)
“In the end, a manager likes some players more than others — it is normal, and you must accept that.
“Maybe that was also a reason why I had ups and downs.”
Werner admitted that he wanted to leave Tuchel preferring the Belgian striker to him. He said that after the UCL-winning season he had, it hurt.
He scored 12 goals and assisted 15 in 52 appearances in his first season for the club. Those numbers would have been quite impressive if his conversion rate was slightly better.
The following season, he scored 11 goals for the Blues. The 26-year-old also had numerous goals chalked off for various reasons.
However, he found joy upon returning to his native Germany and former side Leipzig.
Werner’s conversion is still poor. In the Bundesliga, he has bagged five goals but has missed eight big chances.
Top goalscorers miss big chances all the time. Mohamed Salah scored 23 league goals last season and missed 17. Kylian Mbappe scored 28 in Ligue 1 but missed 23.
Werner has to fix his conversion rate, which was the primary reason why Chelsea replaced him in the first place.
He has a chance to show English fans his best version when Leipzig take on Manchester City in the Champions League today.
