Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has called on his old side to start Timo Werner in attack when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter final on Tuesday. The Blues will head to the Bernabeu needing to score at least two goals after losing 3-1 to Los Blancos at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday.
Thomas Tuchel’s side bounced back in fine fashion from their midweek defeat by thrashing Southampton 6-0 on Saturday, Werner helped himself to a brace and struck the woodwork three times in an impressive display. The German has struggled for form and confidence since he joined the club in the summer of 2020, but his performance on the south coast was a timely reminder of what he is capable of.
Chelsea will be without Romelu Lukaku for the trip to the Spanish capital due to an achilles injury, however, due to his lacklustre form this season he was unlikely to start against Real. Tuchel has often preferred Kai Havertz to lead the line instead, and Sutton would like to see Werner link-up with his Germany teammate in Madrid.
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“With Romelu Lukaku not even in the squad, it is time for Chelsea to unleash the forgotten man Timo Werner. Sutton wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
“His pace and movement can combine well with the guile of Kai Havertz to cause Real Madrid plenty of issues. I hope Timo Werner got to take the goal-frame home with him from Southampton after securing the woodwork hat-trick — striking the left post, right post and crossbar.
“Despite his desperately rotten luck, Werner still helped himself to two goals. Thomas Tuchel has sounded so negative about Chelsea’s chances of producing a Champions League comeback against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, describing it as an ‘almost impossible’ task.
“If that defeatist attitude is genuine and he does indeed think they’ve got nothing to lose, isn’t it worth throwing Werner into the mix? Why not?
“Chelsea need goals, and though Werner hasn’t set the world alight since signing, he’s guaranteed to work his socks off. Romelu Lukaku hasn’t travelled to Madrid so Werner and Kai Havertz playing off one another could represent their best bet of striking early in this European encounter.”
