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      Timo Werner leads Chelsea in goal involvements after assist vs Man City despite criticism of big-money transfer

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      TIMO WERNER may appear to have struggled at Stamford Bridge since arriving from RB Leipzig in a £48million deal.However, the Chelsea forward has remarkably been directly involved in 19 goals in all competitions this season – more than other player at the club.
      Timo Werner has more goal involvement than other Chelsea player this seasonCredit: AP
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      Werner has scored 10 goals and provided nine assists for his team-mates – three more than any other Blues star.
      The German international helped provide the breakthrough for Hakim Ziyech against Manchester City on Saturday, after making a darting run and delivering a cross to find the Moroccan to tap into an empty net.
      And since former PSG coach Thomas Tuchel has arrived in West London, Werner has had an upturn in fortunes.
      Initially, many labelled Werner a flop after a number of glaring misses became the norm for the shot-shy striker.
      Even for Germany things weren’t any better – when he was ridiculed for missing a sitter against North Macedonia in a shock 2-1 defeat.
      Last week, there were even calls that Werner should be taken out of the firing line and dropped by Tuchel by pundit Clinton Morrison.
      He told BBC 5 Live: “Chelsea have got other attacking options – it just depends on how long Tuchel wants to stick with Timo Werner.
      “Listen, Werner is not a bad player. You don’t become a bad player overnight.
      “It’s just at the moment, he’s getting into positions and not being clinical.
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      Werner provided the assist for Ziyech’s winning goal against Man CityCredit: Getty

      “Maybe he needs a bit of time out of the team and he can make an impact coming off the bench.”
      Back in March, Werner faced the wrath of his manager against Everton , when Tuchel was overheard berating him for playing out of position for 15 minutes.
      However, he has stood by his fellow countryman, despite the criticism that’s come Werner’s way, and it seems rightly so.
      Chelsea boss Tuchel compares Timo Werner’s scoring troubles to picking up women More

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      Chelsea verdict: Blues well and truly prove their Prem title credentials by outplaying champs in waiting Man City

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      CHELSEA started the day with their manager claiming that his side will be closing the gap on the game’s top sides from the start of next season.Manchester City are THE top side, but tonight proved that Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea are maybe not quite as far behind them as they first thought.
      Thomas Tuchel may have some title challengers on his handsCredit: PA
      Chelsea confidently beat Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finalCredit: Reuters
      The Blues showed their professionalism, pragmatism, quality, and raw desire to win matches and grind out a result against a team that many believe to be the best in the world right now.
      City, despite attacking with a bit more intent as they chased the equaliser, really didn’t look a threat for Chelsea for the whole match and Tuchel’s side were the better team and deserved their 1-0 win.
      Tuchel, as he has been very successful in doing since replacing Frank Lampard, set hi side up to be difficult to break down.
      And City has no answers as the Blues became just the second English side this year, after Manchester United, to shut City out.
      And, in truth, Chelsea didn’t need to step up too many gears to achieve it.
      They just did what they needed to do, found the goal which they deserved, and then defended superbly to see the game out late on.
      Before the match Blues fans, including myself, were not expecting too much at all from it.

      Like many, I believed the gap between the Blues and City right now is too far apart, and I still do to a certain extent.
      But the ease of Chelsea’s win today, and the way they went about getting the result, and being so confident and comfortable whilst they did it. They did the job, but they did it thoroughly and professionally.
      Tuchel has really instilled a belief in this set of players and rather than folding under pressure as we have so often seen them do in recent times, they stood up and actually believed that they will win this game and believed that they are just as good as this City team.
      The gap has not been closed, but it has certainly been reduced.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Chelsea star Ben Chilwell reveals he is ‘different player’ since Thomas Tuchel arrived More

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      Tammy Abraham left OUT of Chelsea’s FA Cup squad to face Manchester City in latest snub from boss Thomas Tuchel

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      TAMMY ABRAHAM has been left out of Chelsea’s squad for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.Despite being fully fit and the competition’s top scorer with four goals in three matches – there is no place for him in Thomas Tuchel’s picks.
      Tammy Abraham has been left out of Chelsea’s squad for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester CityCredit: Rex

      The striker has not featured for Chelsea since February 20 where he was subbed at half-time in a 1-1 draw with Southampton.
      Abraham, 23, has been frozen out of the first-team picture after recovering from an ankle injury.
      The striker was an unused substitute against Crystal Palace and in both Champions League quarter-final legs against Porto.
      Abraham is understood to be upset at his lack of game time under Tuchel and could be ready to move on.
      He was a fixture under former manager Frank Lampard, and scored 18 goals last season.
      The England striker is still the club’s top scorer this season with 12 goals, despite being frozen out since Tuchel took charge in January.
      But the German warned Abraham, who faces missing out on a place in England Euro squad, that there is no easy way back into the Blues line up.
      Tuchel said: “I don’t think he’s the top scorer since I arrived.

      “So I can only judge what I see and what we have together from the first minute when I arrived.
      “I have seen a bright young man in front of me. A guy who is self-confident, who has a lot of talent.
      “But it cannot be that in a period of such good results that suddenly the guys who don’t play are the winners.
      “This cannot be. Because first of all, you need to be in the squad and if you are in a winning squad, you have your part in this winning squad.
      “And it cannot be that sometimes the people who don’t make it to the squad are in the end the winners, although the team is winning many games. This is not logical to me.
      “We are aware that he scored, we are aware that he scored a lot in the cup.
      Thomas Tuchel warned Tammy Abraham there is no easy way back into the Blues line upCredit: PA
      “We had some tactical changes he had to accept. We accept that he was injured.
      “OK, so now it’s a difficult time to try things out because while he is injured the engine keeps on running.”
      Abraham’s current deal expires in two years, but with Chelsea rumoured to be in the market for a new striker, there has been no talk of a contract extension.
      Erling Haaland, 20, and Sergio Aguero, 32, and Romelu Lukaku, 27, are among the names the Blues have been linked with.
      It leaves Abraham’s future uncertain, having already been overlooked for Timo Werner, 25, Kai Havertz, 21, and Olivier Giroud, 34.

      Chelsea vs Man City – Watch LIVE for FREE, channel info and kick-off time More

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      Chelsea have NEVER lost to Real Madrid in three meetings in good omen ahead of Champions League clash

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      CHELSEA should head into their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid full of confidence if history has anything to do with it.The Blues are unbeaten in all three competitive games they have played against the Spanish giants.
      Marcel Desailly and matchwinner Gus Poyet hold the Super Cup Trophy after Chelsea beat Real Madrid in 1998Credit: Reuters
      Thomas Tuchel’s side lost 1-0 against Porto in the second leg of their quarter-final clash on Tuesday.
      But a 2-0 win in their first clash – that was played in Spain – saw the Londoners through to face Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos.
      Boss Tuchel should get his squad to read through the history books to give them a boost.
      The two side have faced each other three times previously, Chelsea winning two and drawing one.
      The last time they played was on August 28, 1998 in the Uefa Super Cup, with Chelsea triumphing 1-0.
      Gus Poyet scored the only goal of the game with an 83rd-minute winner for Gianluca Vialli’s side.
      In 1971 the two teams met in the Uefa European Cup Winners Cup.
      The first game finished 1-1 with the sides unable to be separated after extra-time. Peter Osgood fired the Blues 1-0 up on 56 minutes but Zoco sent the game to a replay with a 90th-minute equaliser.
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      Poyet gambled, and pulled off a super victory for the LondonersCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

      But it was Dave Sexton’s boys celebrating in the second game with goals from John Dempsey and Osgood again securing a 2-1 triumph.
      Sebastian Fleitas netted a consolation for the Spaniards.
      Real Madrid set up a fourth meeting against Chelsea after they eased their way past Liverpool.
      A 3-1 Bernabeu win saw the Premier League champions with it all to do – and they failed to fire in a 0-0 second-leg draw.
      Chelsea captain Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris holds aloft the European Cup Winners Cup after their 1971 replay success against Real MadridCredit: Hulton Archive – Getty
      After a 1-1 draw after extra-time, the game went to a replay, which saw the Londoners triumphCredit: Hulton Archive – Getty
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Chelsea star Ben Chilwell reveals he is ‘different player’ since Thomas Tuchel arrived More

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      Chelsea starlet Mason Mount a must-start at Euro 2020, insist ex-England stars Ferdinand, Cole, Lineker and Hoddle

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      MASON MOUNT has been backed for a starring role at Euro 2020 by a quartet of England heroes.Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole praised the midfielder’s attitude and ability in discussing how best to play him this summer.
      Mason Mount has starred for Chelsea and England this seasonCredit: Reuters
      Rio Ferdinand added his voice to the calls for him to start at Euro 2020Credit: Getty
      Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s game with Porto on Tuesday evening, former defender Ferdinand highlighted how Mount, 22, has fought off criticism while starring for Chelsea.
      He told BT Sport: “We can talk about ability and how he plays etc, but one thing that is not in doubt is his character.
      “For one so young to be criticised the way he has been, [which was] because he’s not an Instagram-friendly player.
      “He isn’t a player who does loads of skill and stepovers and has a showreel on Instagram.
      “He’s about output and influencing games, taking a game by the scruff of the neck at a critical moment. And he’s someone I think that will continue to grow and he relishes being under the spotlight.
      “If we’re talking about England, he starts. Where he plays, you can sort that out.”
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      Gareth Southgate will have an impressive array of attacking midfielders to select from this summer, including Jack Grealish and James Maddison, but Cole made the case for Mount’s greater defensive work.
      The ex-Chelsea star said: “Whether he starts is not even a question, Gareth’s just thinking, ‘He’s in the team, who do I put around him?’.
      “What he does that the Grealishes and Maddisons can’t is he can play deeper, he’s more responsible with the ball, but he’s also got that bit of magic.”
      Talk turned to exactly how the 16-capped Mount will settle into this England side, and a Twitter poll where 79 per cent of fans wanted him in the line-up.
      Lineker joked he ‘was not quite sure’ what those who voted against Mount starting ‘were thinking’.
      Ferdinand recommended playing him as one of two more advanced central players in a three-man midfield, and Hoddle agreed that he should feature in the ‘spine’ of the team.

      And 1998 World Cup manager Hoddle added: “What I like about him, it is about his end product.
      “There are other players who do flashier things, his end product is that turn we saw last week [to score against Porto], that’s the place on the pitch and the time to do it.
      “Not on the halfway line to put your goal at threat, he does it with end product.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Mason Mount reacts to grabbing his first Champions League goal in Chelsea’s 2-0 away win against Porto More

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      Ex-Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink thought 2009 Champions League semi-final vs Barcelona could have been ‘fixed’

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      GUUS HIDDINK thought Chelsea’s 2009 Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona might have been fixed – even though the referee owned up to making mistakes.The Blues were denied a spot in the final after the official Tom Henning Ovrebo made a series of blunders.
      Dider Drogba verbally abuses ref Tom Henning Ovrebo back in 2009 while (inset) boss Guus Hiddink pulls his furious striker away
      Hiddink, manager of Chelsea at the time, branded the officialdom as ‘the worst refereeing I have ever seen’.
      He told Ziggo Sport in 2020: “The referee performance surprised me, because in the past he’d had perfect performances.
      “Is it the worst refereeing I’ve ever seen? I think so.”
      The Dutchman alleged: “This is the only time I thought a match could’ve been fixed.”
      Barca went on to beat Manchester United in the final.
      Hiddink claims football chiefs would not have wanted a repeat of the all-English final between Chelsea and United the year before, won by the Red Devils on spot-kicks.
      But in an interview with SunSport in February 2018, Norwegian whistler Ovrebo admitted to making genuine mistakes during the match.
      Ovrebo, who works as a psychologist in Oslo now, turned down FOUR Blues’ penalty claims before Chelsea were cruelly eliminated by Andres Iniesta’s 94th-minute goal for Barca which put them through on away goals.

      Death threats were made after the game by people claiming to be Chelsea fans, while straight after the match Blues striker Didier Drogba verbally attacked the ref, and later received a five-match ban.
      Ovrebo said: “I was happy with 95 per cent of my decisions. But there were some decisions that were not dealt with in the correct manner.
      “One handball earlier in the game should have been a penalty. People will always have different opinions about the game.
      “But everyone agrees the refereeing that night was not optimal. And I am the first to agree with them.”
      At the time Uefa dismissed the conspiracy theories around the game.
      Uefa general secretary David Taylor said: “If anything it’s a media conspiracy against Uefa.
      “It does make me angry. It really annoys me because it’s a load of rubbish.”
      Uefa plot major revamp of away goals rule in Champions League and Europa League next season as clubs back move More

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      Ex-Barcelona wonderkid & ‘next Van Dijk’ Xavier Mbuyamba scores on Chelsea debut for U23s after seven-month injury hell

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      XAVIER MBUYAMBA completed his long road to recovery by finally making his Chelsea Under-23s debut – and even got on the scoresheet.It was a moment years in the making as a failed switch to Stamford Bridge and long injury layoff prevented the defender from making his mark.
      Xavier Mbuyamba marked his long-awaited Chelsea debut with a goalCredit: Getty
      The centre-back had spent seven months on the sideline with a knee injuryCredit: Getty
      On Monday, the Blues’ reserves faced Southampton in Premier League 2 and claimed a 3-1 win.
      Coming off the bench for the final 25 minutes, 19-year-old Mbuyamba came out on top in a goalmouth scramble to cap his debut with a goal.
      Faustino Aronjin and Silko Thomas also scored for Chelsea to earn the win, which the debutant revelled in with a Twitter post.
      He wrote: “The comeback is greater than the setback.
      “This is a mental game, that’s why I have already won.
      “Made the debut I have been dreaming about for months. With my first goal. What a feeling!”
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      Mbuyamba broke out with Dutch club MVV Maastricht before attracting the interest of Chelsea.
      A move to West London was on the cards in 2019 but the club’s transfer ban denied him the switch.
      He later said: “I would have actually gone to Chelsea, because they were the first to come.
      “But because of a transfer ban they could not offer a contract. Then the choice finally fell on Barcelona.”
      Heading to Barcelona instead, the Netherlands youth international was not fancied by the club’s B team and he left by mutual consent last summer.
      Premier League Chelsea quickly plucked Mbuyamba, whose 6ft 5in frame has drawn comparisons with Virgil van Dijk.
      The comeback is greater than the setback. This is a mental game, thats why I have already won.Made the debut I have been dreaming about for months. With my first goal. What a feeling!💙 pic.twitter.com/cIKSF9NZZc— xavier mbuyamba (@XMbuyamba) April 13, 2021

      Yet, on only his second day of training, he suffered a torn meniscus and sat out the next seven months.
      He wrote on Instagram after the setback: “I was ready to give it my all, to put all of my heart, blood, sweat and tears into it.
      “Now imagine… your second training and… SNAP! There goes your knee in the blink of an eye. A torn meniscus so no football for at least four months.
      “Here I was with all I thought I had, but it turned out to be worth nothing in that situation.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Chelsea star Ben Chilwell reveals he is ‘different player’ since Thomas Tuchel arrived More