Story of the Blues
Kai Havertz has discussed his time in West London since he arrived for £71 million in the summer. Much was expected of him and it is fair to say that his return of 5 goals in 29 appearances hasn’t met with his, the club or supporters expectations yet.
Kai Havertz admits to Chelsea struggles but vows he’s got “no excuses” for poor form | @MirrorAnderson https://t.co/Dqew8iDoLs pic.twitter.com/H6yoDOpZBi
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) March 14, 2021
He played as a false 9 in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Leeds on Saturday lunch time. He was selected to play that role after starting in the same position in the recent 2-0 win over Everton, in which his deflected shot put the Blues 0ne up and then he was brought down for the penalty, which Jorginho converted for the second.
He was however guilty of missing his sides two best chances at Elland Road and spoke about it.
“We don’t score enough goals. We get good chances, but we’re not clinical enough in front of goal.”
” We had good chances against Leeds, I had two chances myself. We have to keep working hard and make it better next time.”
His manager, fellow German Thomas Tuchel, is happy with him but rued his finishing.
Tuchel on Havertz’s performance: “Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish like he did in training and like he can finish. He could have been the decisive guy.” Adds, that he is generally happy with him and that he trusts him as a 9. #CFC #LEECHE
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) March 13, 2021
No Excuses
Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel after the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London. Picture date: Monday March 8, 2021. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/PA Images via Getty Images)
However, he is not making any excuses for his start in England, despite the fact that he has some viable reasons for not yet setting the Premier League alight as Chelsea would have hoped.
As with any new player adapting to a new league in a new country, there is often a settling in period required. The culture is different, the country is different and he is still only 21 years old.
He also has had a well publicised bout of Corona-19, which took him some time to recover from.
However, he is not wanting these things to shield him from what he accepts has been less than prosperous start.
“Corona is now over, I feel good, ” I had little injury in the past few weeks, but it’s now time to play good.”
“I have to improve my game. It’s not been easy for me, but there are no excuses. I just have to keep working and hopefully there will be a big turnaround soon, but I will give it my best.”
He displayed his maturity when discussing missing his family and settling in London during lockdown, knowing that compared to what is going on in the world with the pandemic, he is aware there are many worse off than him.
“It’s hard for me, but I’m six months here and getting used to the place, to the country.”
“I hope that I will see my family soon. It’s tough for me, I’ve always loved spending time with them. It’s not been the right time to spend time with them. But it’s not only me, there are thousands of other people in an even worse situation than me.”
“It isn’t an excuse for me. I will give my best.”
As the season hurtles towards its conclusion, Chelsea fans will be hoping that they start to see the player who lit up the Bundesliga for Bayern Leverkusen and ensure the club fulfils it’s minimum objective of qualifying for the Champions League.
Ben Chilwell explains what Chelsea must add under Thomas Tuchel
Football Live streaming: Featured matches on March 15
Chelsea betting odds, next game:
Chelsea vs West Brom odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
Chelsea’s latest videos
Chelsea 6-0 Bristol City | Kerr Hat Trick Fires Blues to Trophy! | Women’s Continental League Cup
Sam Kerr hit a hat trick & Fran Kirby had a hand in all…
2021-03-14T20:09:04Z
Thomas Tuchel & N’golo Kante React To Goalless Draw At Elland Road | Leeds 0-0 Chelsea
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says the Blues had enough chances to take all three…
2021-03-14T16:00:05Z
Chelsea latest news
Premier League table
# | Team | MP | D | P |
1 | Manchester City FC | 30 | 43 | 71 |
2 | Leicester City FC | 29 | 21 | 56 |
3 | Manchester United FC | 28 | 23 | 54 |
4 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 19 | 51 |
5 | West Ham United FC | 27 | 11 | 48 |
6 | Everton FC | 28 | 3 | 46 |
7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 27 | 18 | 45 |
8 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
9 | Aston Villa FC | 27 | 11 | 41 |
10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
11 | Crystal Palace FC | 29 | -16 | 37 |
12 | Leeds United | 28 | -3 | 36 |
13 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
14 | Southampton FC | 29 | -15 | 33 |
15 | Burnley FC | 29 | -15 | 33 |
16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 28 | -7 | 29 |
17 | Newcastle United FC | 28 | -17 | 28 |
18 | Fulham FC | 29 | -14 | 26 |
19 | West Bromwich Albion | 29 | -37 | 18 |
20 | Sheffield United FC | 29 | -34 | 14 |
Player | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 10 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
---|---|---|---|
Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 7 |
Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
Player | Team | Assists |
---|---|---|
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Foden, Phil | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 5 |
Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Source: 101greatgoals.com