Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over West Ham in a pivotal London derby certainly showed the two sides to goal-shy Timo Werner.
The German striker was one of Chelsea’s most threatening players on the day, only usurped by Mason Mount, as the Blues picked up a vital three points in the race for the top four, giving themselves a three-point cushion to the Hammers with five games to go.
The game played out as most had expected, especially when the two sides matched up playing five at the back, but it was Tuchel’s side who came out on top as the German manager continued his record of not losing away from home since replacing Frank Lampard.
Werner’s work rate and application has never been in doubt but today was just his second Premier League goal since November. The Blues had splashed out £49.5million on Werner from RB Leipzig.
But despite the big gap between his last two goals, he popped up with a big goal to see Chelsea give themselves a big cushion in the top four race. He also had an incredible miss in the second half to balance things out.
The first half of the game was a very even affair but Chelsea didn’t have their shooting boots on as Mason Mount, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic all spurned some decent chances in the Hammers half.
But was nothing that wasn’t unexpected for either David Moyes or Thomas Tuchel, who matched each other in formation and, unsurprisingly, both sides struggled to break each other down.
VAR took a look at a possible handball against the returning Cesar Azpilicueta but ruled nothing was doing after the Spaniard blocked Tomas Soucek’s shot.
It was a huge goal for not only the Blues, but also Werner who netted for the first time in the league since February’s win over Newcastle to give the visitors a crucial lead.
