Thomas Tuchel tells Kai Havertz to regain his decisiveness after misses vs Manchester United
Thomas Tuchel has advised Kai Havertz to regain his decisiveness as the forward failed to take advantage of the several chances that came his way against Manchester United. The visitors were held to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford despite them controlling most of the proceedings on the night.
Chelsea were clearly the better side at the end of the Premier League fixture, but they lacked the finishing touch to get all three points. One of the culprits for the situation was Havertz, who enjoyed several opportunities to land a decisive blow against the Red Devils. Tuchel has now given his thoughts on the matter.
Speaking in the post-match press conference (h/t Chelsea official website), the German boss has expressed that he expects the 22-year-old to respond with a strong performance moving forward. He also added that the attacker must find his foothold once again to get back to his best self.
“He [Havertz] needs to fight back into his shape. Hopefully, he shows a reaction. The guys are still young up front. We will not start pointing fingers because lately, they have been very composed and efficient. Against Southampton and the win in Bernabeu, we took our chances very well.”
Havertz, slowed down a bit?
The 48-year-old coach did convey that the German international cannot be blamed as the physical efforts have taken a toll on his body. He mentions how that plays a part in the forward’s reduced efficiency but did admit that Havertz would probably have given them the win on another day.
“When we look at the data, we see a huge amount of sprints and intensity from Kai, and Timo as well. They don’t arrive fully fresh at the moment, and that’s why we will always protect them. We demand a lot off the ball, but I agree in the last weeks he had the form that would have put this game to bed.”
Havertz’s best chance came around the half-hour mark when he was put through on goal by N’Golo Kante, which he failed to convert. David De Gea did make a crucial save on that shot, but it was more of a squandered chance rather than an impressive effort from the shot-stopper.
de Gea did come out to reduce the angle for Havertz to score, but the latter could have taken a better decision. After all, the resulting shot was straight at the goalkeeper’s body which is not something you expect from someone who has more often than not been decisive since moving to Stamford Bridge.
Despite his subdued display, Havertz may still continue to get minutes due to Romelu Lukaku’s struggles. As such, the former can turn things around in the future, with the West London side set to take on Everton next in the league. Let’s hope that he can regain his form as it would be crucial for us to challenge for the FA Cup next month.
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The club suffered against the Reds in the EFL Cup final when Lukaku and Havertz couldn’t time their respective runs by a fraction of a second despite netting the ball while Mason Mount missed a very good chance to score the game’s first goal. A repeat of the same must not happen at Wembley in May.