Chelsea analysis: The forwards new and old give Blues spark

Christian Pulisic, Left Winger

Chelsea rolled out a fairly formidable front-line last season when injury permitted. And that would prove to be difficult permission to receive. Chelsea opened the season with a newly-acquired American superstar, Christian Pulisic, AKA Captain America playing on the left wing. Pulisic started fairly well but a serious muscle injury curtailed his first season in blue and he was sidelined for several months until after the coronavirus suspension. Yet, upon returning, he certainly made it plain why Chelsea had invested the healthy sum of $73M on the young American national team star.

Pulisic demonstrated a new, more direct attacking style as Lampard himself noted and began to rip Premier League defenses apart like paper with his slashing rushes and piercing shots. Pulisic was arguably the Blues’ best player after the break until another untimely injury curtailed his breakthrough and kept him out of the action for the FA Cup final against the Gunners. There is no doubt that his absence created a definite and major shortfall in the Blues’ attack and failure to bring home the trophy. When healthy, Pulisic will start on the left.

Hakim Ziyech, Right Winger

Ziyech immediately demonstrated his quality in Chelsea’s first friendly against Brighton. He launched a perfect pass to Callum Hudson-Odoi that he deflected effortlessly on to the golden boot of Timo Werner for the Blues only goal after about four minutes or so. Then, later in the match, he delivered a perfect past to Timo Werner who diverted a header over the goal precluding him from his brace and Ziyech from his first assist as a Chelsea player. A shame, yet in the process, Ziyech still demonstrated that he not only is up to the challenge of the Premier League but that he will excel. He was simply masterful before having to be helped off with an injury.

Ziyech’s potential is just massive for the club. He is a uniquely talented forward both on the pass and in the shot. He’s a lethal finisher if he has the opportunity but he seems to like the role of set-up man equally well. No matter his predisposition, Ziyech is one of a growing coterie of Chelsea players who can impact the attack both by pinpoint passing and by decisive finishing. Hopefully, the knee injury won’t prevent Ziyech from missing too much game action, if any at all. He’s a joy to watch and the goals will flow.

Timo Werner, Striker

Chelsea now finds itself with a plethora of attacking talent at the center forward position. One might say a wealth of riches. It’s looking like the choice to start the season if healthy is newly-acquired super-scorer Timo Werner. It took Werner all of about four minutes or so to earn his breakthrough and score his first goal in the preseason friendly against Brighton. Werner is no stranger to scoring goals. He was second to the marvelous Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich in scoring in the Bundesliga for Leipzig last season. He scored 34 goals and 13 assists in 45 games in all competitions. That’s 47 goal involvements in 45 games. It’s called ultra-production.

Werner is a sniper whose focus is on one objective: goal-scoring. Werner is a decisive and instinctive scorer. Yet, he won’t pass up an opportunity to get on the score sheet by laying a great pass onto a teammate’s feet either. But make no mistake about it, he is first and foremost a finisher and who revels in getting lots of goals. He’s exactly what you want in a center forward, yet he also has the skills and the inclination to be played on the left wing if the situation calls for it. That versatility could be critical during the long season as injuries and fatigue may necessitate that people contribute in other than their primary roles. Werner can do just that.