Why I benched Timo Werner for 120 minutes against Liverpool – Tuchel finally reveals
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was chastised for not playing Timo Werner against Liverpool.
Tuchel started with Romelu Lukaku, Christian Pulisic, and Mason Mount up front. He substituted Hakim Ziyech for Romelu Lukaku late in the second half. To everyone’s amazement, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho substituted Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Christian Pulisic in extra time.
Alan Shearer, a Newcastle icon, chastised Tuchel for not starting Timo Werner, who he expected to cause problems for Liverpool’s defense.
Shearer told the BBC: “No surprises to me in the Liverpool team that’s pretty much as expected.
“With Chelsea Havertz is injured. But I’m surprised Werner’s not playing, because of his pace, because of the high line we know Liverpool play.
“I know he gets offside a lot but it would have been a huge threat for him to be running behind.”
Explaining why Werner was absent, Tuchel has now revealed that the German international felt uncomfortable in his hamstring during warm-up.
Tuchel said after the game: “Timo felt uncomfortable during the warm-up and said he could not play.”