EPL

Werner impressed by Premier League intensity, feels 'at home' under Tuchel

By Sports Desk February 22, 2021

Timo Werner has been impressed by the intensity of the Premier League and admits he has felt more "at home" since Thomas Tuchel took charge at Chelsea.

The German forward has endured a mixed start to life in England, suffering a long goal drought before finding the net in last week's 2-0 win over Newcastle United.

It was his first strike in the league since the November 7 win over Sheffield United, having gone 1,000 minutes without scoring despite 31 attempts.

Werner came in for some criticism but tried not to let that bother him as he adapts to the style of play in a new and challenging environment.

"Of course, I noticed that in such a lull you are no longer necessarily called a super striker," he told Kicker. "I just had to let go of all the pressure of having to score goals.

"It's the way in England that you never have a quiet game. You go fourth to last, are 1-0 behind after 15 minutes and they park the bus in front of their goal.

"The players are 1.90 meters tall, brutal physically and really fast – including the defenders. It's impressive what intensity is going on in the Premier League."

Werner has already seen a change of head coach, with club legend Frank Lampard replaced by Tuchel last month.

The arrival of a fellow German at the helm is something that has helped Werner feel more at ease at Stamford Bridge.

"Even though I work a lot on my English, I couldn't always express myself the way I wanted and had to be careful not to be misunderstood," he said.

"Now, of course, that's no longer a problem, you can almost feel a bit at home."

Chelsea sit fifth in the Premier League ahead of Tuesday's trip to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League for the first leg of their last-16 tie.

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