The German star still scored in regular time and said the support of the Blues fans was “special”
Timo Werner has explained why he didn’t take a penalty for Chelsea in Wednesday’s shootout win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.
The German forward scored Chelsea’s only goal in the 54th minute, prompting the home fans to sing his name in celebration.
Often criticised for his struggles in front of goal, Werner acknowledged how special it was to hear the fans honour him following his second-half strike and said his absence from the shootout triumph was pain-related.
What happened?
Werner scored in the second half on an assist from Reece James, giving Chelsea the 1-0 lead.
But Villa countered just 10 minutes later on a goal from Cameron Archer, eventually pushing the game to a shootout.
Once there, Chelsea made four of their five spot kicks, with Ben Chilwell the only player to miss. Meanwhile, Villa saw misses from Ashley Young and Marvelous Nakamba in their 5-3 shootout defeat.
What did Werner say?
Speaking to the Chelsea Fifth Stand App, Werner said: “I feel good [hearing people sing my name]. It is good to be back on the scoresheet of course.
“We needed to keep winning and get into the next round of the Carabao Cup and we are happy with the game.
“A goal opens the game, the first half, both teams were passive and struggled with all their changes. I think when we scored in the second half we were under a lot of pressure and lost control, went to 1-1 and after that we showed a good reaction. We wanted to win in 90 minutes and were lucky to win on penalties.”
Asked why he didn’t take a penalty in the decisive shootout, Werner responded: “First of all, I had pain in my calf and couldn’t go out. When you have fit players on the pitch, it is better they shoot than I do today.”
Next up for Chelsea
Chelsea will take on Southampton in their next Carabao Cup match.
Prior to that, though, the Blues will look towards the Premier League and the Champions League over the next week.
They’ll face Manchester City on Saturday in a clash of Premier League title hopefuls and will then turn their focus towards a trip to Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.
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