Michael Ballack believes Timo Werner’s goal drought is now impacting his confidence at Chelsea and that he was “used to playing differently” at RB Leipzig.
RB Leipzig summer recruit Werner’s miseries extended to a return of just one goal in 18 matches in all competitions with another blank against Tottenham, although he did win the crucial penalty in midweek.
Ballack told Omnisport (via The Metro): “Timo started off pretty well. Of course, if you aren’t scoring as a striker, then it is hard on the self-confidence.
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“I believe that it is very hard for him overall, as he was used to playing differently at Leipzig. He had a lot more space in front of him.
“Chelsea is the kind of team that has a lot of ball possession, wanting to dominate the opponent. Maybe even more so with [Thomas] Tuchel. Maybe he has to work on his playing style a little bit or try to get himself into better positions.
“As a striker you are depending on your fellow players to find you and if the [goal drought] breaks, then he will be able to find his old form. He used to have good phases with the national team, using his physical presence and power to break down on the wing. So when the [drought] breaks, then things will go better again.”
Meanwhile, new Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel recently defended Werner over his poor goal return after their win over Burnley.
“He’s totally into it, he gives everything, but every striker is sensitive and nothing helps them more than goals,” said Tuchel.
“If they miss goals for a certain amount of time it’s the same for all of them. So this is nothing special for Timo, it happens to every striker in the world.
“As long as he has the impact and tries everything, like he did today, we will support him. We also missed some chances to use him in counter-attacks, which is his strength to use him with his speed.
“So we have to use him in the right way also. I think he was confident to play, but confidence is not something you can demand.
“Confidence is something that comes with good performances. As long as he lacks goals he won’t be at 100 per cent. But it’s okay, he just has to keep going until he may find a very easy goal, to bring out the last few per cent.”
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