Chelsea star blames VAR for poor goal-return; welcomes proposed changes

Chelsea ace Timo Werner blames VAR for lack of goals last season

According to German journalist Christian Falk on Twitter (h/t Daily Star), Chelsea forward Timo Werner has laid the blame at the feet of VAR for his low goal output last season.

Werner arrived at Chelsea last summer from RB Leipzig in a move worth £53m. The German international signed Chelsea with the reputation of being an infallible goalscorer, having plundered 28 goals in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season with his former club.

However, Werner wasn’t able to reproduce the same kind of form at Chelsea, as he struggled to find the back of the net on a consistent basis. Indeed, the 25-year-old ended the season with a tally of just 12 goals from 52 matches in all competitions – averaging a goal every 319 minutes (!).

Werner, now, surprisingly has blamed VAR for his struggles in his debut season in England, claiming that the system denied him at least five goals with close offside decisions.

“I read that they want to make the VAR line thicker in England, that would be good for me because then I would have 5 more goals this season. Basically, the VAR is fine and I say that, although I suffered most of it.”

There were a few close calls that could have gone either way, but Werner, in an overall sense, lacked the clinical touch in front of the goal and was guilty of missing some sitters. He was also caught offside 41 times in the 2020/21 Premier League campaign – the highest by any player.

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The proposed change of making the offside lines thicker is a welcome move. But, at the same time it must not be lost that Werner needs to work on his game if he is to fare better in the upcoming campaign. The German has shown fight and character in plenty. But, there are aspects in his game that need polishing.