Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Chelsea attacker savaged after ineffective Liverpool display – ‘He doesn’t know what he’s doing’

Timo Werner TEAMtalk

The ability and application of Chelsea striker Timo Werner has been called into question after another misfire on the big stage.

Chelsea and Liverpool went toe-to-toe in a thrilling EFL Cup final on Sunday. The score remained 0-0 for 120 minutes, though it was one of the most gripping stalemates in recent memory.

Liverpool would ultimately lift the trophy after persevering in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.

All 20 outfield players were perfect from the spot, with the respective goalkeepers ultimately deciding the trophy’s fate when Kepa Arrizabalaga blazed over after Caoimhin Kelleher had scored.

But the shoot-out could’ve been avoided had Chelsea showed greater discipline to spring Liverpool’s offside trap.

The full range of Blues attackers including Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku were repeatedly thwarted by Liverpool’s disciplined defensive line. Chelsea twice beat Kelleher in open play but saw celebrations tempered by the offside flag.

Redknapp take swipe at Werner

Yet late into the piece, it was Werner that drew the ire of Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

The German was brought on in a double change alongside Lukaku after 74 minutes. With the scores still deadlocked half an hour later, Redknapp took aim at Werner during the break between extra time periods.

“Chelsea have ended up with Werner on the pitch,” said Redknapp (via the Mirror).

“I look at him, someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he has that chaos factor.”

Ousmane Dembele on his way to join Chelsea this summer as Blues go all out

Ousmane Dembele on his way to join Chelsea this summer as Blues go all out

Chelsea are ready to go all out for Ousmane Dembele this summer as Thomas Tuchel wants his former player

Werner’s fall from grace since moving to Stamford Bridge has been stark. The German was once a potent finisher at RB Leipzig and with his national team.

However, his goals return since joining Chelsea now stands at 18 in 75 appearances.


Liverpool hero “scared the living daylights out of Kepa”

Meanwhile, Kelleher set Kepa up for failure in the Carabao Cup final because of his excellent penalty, one pundit has said.

While neither goalkeeper saved a penalty, Kelleher – who used to play outfield in his youth – slotted away his penalty to make it 11-10 to Liverpool.

And Kepa then blazed his effort over to send the Liverpool fans at that end of the ground into ecstasy. According to Garth Crooks, Kelleher deserves praise for his standout back-up role when required.

The pundit wrote in his BBC Sport Team of the Week column: “I must say, whenever I’ve seen Caoimhin Kelleher play in goal for Liverpool he looks totally unflappable.

“He goes about his job as if saving goals is the least important thing on his mind. And yet I can’t ever remember seeing the Republic of Ireland international let Liverpool down. The Carabao Cup final is like any final, full of tension and anxiety. But for Kelleher it seemed like a training session.”

In fact, Crooks added that Kelleher’s penalty proved mentally decisive for Kepa subsequently missing.

“I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it,” the pundit added.

“A goalkeeper taking the final penalty in a shootout and burying it so comprehensively in the back of the net must have scared the living daylights out of Kepa Arrizabalaga because he missed his.”

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