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London (dpa) - Timo Werner will not forget this second Christmas day anytime soon.
Because his first boxing day in the English Premier League went like this for the German national team player of Chelsea FC: Substitution at half-time.
A 1: 3 (0: 2) defeat in the London derby at Arsenal FC.
And then the unflattering explanation of his coach for the early change: "Today Timo didn't give us enough with and without the ball," said Chelsea icon Frank Lampard of the BBC.
Werner as well as his team are in a bad shape.
The 24-year-old striker has not scored in the past ten competitive games and named one of the reasons for this in a Sky interview before Christmas: "The league is tougher than I thought."
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But Chelsea FC, after all the 2019 Europa League winners, 2020 Cup finalists and 2021 Champions League round of 16, have not won a single game against one of the top nine teams in the table this season.
Even against the neighbor, who slipped to 15th place, it was not enough.
Arsenal won their first Premier League game since November 1st with goals from Alexandre Lacazette (35th / penalty kick), Granit Xhaka (44th) and Bukayo Saka (56th).
For Chelsea, Tammy Abraham scored in the 86th minute, while Jorginho missed a penalty in added time.
"I'm very, very disappointed with the way we approached the first half," said Lampard.
“It's not about tactics or systems.
It's about whether the players want to run, sprint and support their teammates.
Or would you prefer to jog and say, 'Maybe I don't have to run' and then make this decision instead of the right one. "
However, questions about attitudes alone cannot explain the current sag of Chelsea FC.
Even several months after her engagement, Lampard has not yet found any suitable roles for Werner and the second German national player Kai Havertz.
Bayer Leverkusen's new signing came on against Arsenal in the 74th minute for French world champion N'golo Kanté.
"The teams that are winning, winning and winning at the moment didn't win two or three years ago," said Lampard.
"It takes time and we are not there yet, that is clear."
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201227-99-822335 / 2
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