Chelsea striker, Timo Werner has spoken about the differences between the Bundesliga and the Premier League as the German played his debut match in Amex Stadium. Chelsea started their Premier League season with a 3-1 win against Brighton on Monday.
The German international’s couple of instances at the stadium showed the first glimpse of what he can bring to Frank Lampard’s attack.
The 24-year-old latched onto a long pass over the top from Reece James, with an electrifying diagonal run from left to right. His run dragged Ben White out of position, before firing a dangerous cross into the box which Mason Mount narrowly missed.
How Timo Werner's wider position created issues for Brighton's defense! Will explain the entire thing in the full analysis video with in-game examples pic.twitter.com/jkGhGgkx0I
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Although the assistant raised his flag and called for offside, the qualities he possessed was totally revealed. It was a combination of speed, anticipation and awareness which made for a neat encapsulation of the qualities that persuaded Lampard to place Werner at the priority list this summer.
He arrived in the Premier League with a stellar performance having scored 95 goals in 159 appearances for RB Leipzig. His reputation is such that, even before kick-off at the Amex Stadium, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said he would be “absolutely amazed” if Timo doesn’t hit at least 20 goals for Chelsea this season.
Lampard didn’t sign Werner just as a goal-machine, he is also seen as a player who can give Chelsea something different. Something that Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud lacked up the pitch. Someone who has the pace and acceleration to stretch defenses and with the intelligent movement to get in behind them.
Less than once per game on average last season, Abraham and Giroud were caught offside. But inside eight minutes, Werner had been flagged two times. The German striker made the kind of runs the Blues didn’t make often enough previously.
Analysis: 'Turbo Timo' Werner fast off the mark on Chelsea debut full of threat and menace https://t.co/VNqyusCPAs pic.twitter.com/SOnrnJAvNf
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It was his speed and alertness that made Chelsea earned the penalty. Werner was already waiting for Jorginho’s through ball after Steven Alzate had lost possession. He was still quick enough to get to the ball even though the pass was over-hit, before advancing Matt Ryan to win the penalty.
“He was onto that in a flash,” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
There were more eye-catching moments. Shortly before half-time, Werner sprinted forward to join Ruben Loftus-Cheek after initiating a counter-attack deep in Chelsea territory.
“Werner is absolutely razor sharp and lightning-quick,” observed Alan Smith during co-commentary.
The diagonal effort from Werner was one of five shots he attempted over the course of the 90 minutes, although he finished the game with no goals. In the closing stages, Brighton Goalkeeper, White denied him with a heroic save. He also committed a backheeled effort that struck a Brighton defender too.
Chelsea will be excited enough by Werner’s sharpness in and around the opposition penalty box. Lampard was seen talking about his real hunger to score goals and being ruthless in that region. He also applauds his willingness to drop deep into the midfield to pull out to the wings. Lamaprd terms it as the ‘most intriguing’ feature of Werner.
“I love the way Timo pops up in different areas,” added Lampard.
“He’s not a frontman who attaches to center-backs so much. Sometimes he can start from a little bit deeper, but when he goes, he goes.”
The Brighton match showed his impressive work-rate as a team’s striker. Maybe this is the reason why Lampard was happy to leave him on the pitch until the game ends despite having Abraham and Giroud on the reserve bench. As per the Premier League tracking data, no other player on the pitch made more runs than the Chelsea striker. Only Kante comes before Werner in terms of covering the ground.
