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Seville (AP) - The positive headlines about Chelsea FC once again do not belong to Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Due to the 2-0 (1-0) in the quarter-final first leg against FC Porto, the English are about to make it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, but the two Germans were hardly noticeable in their success in Seville.
In his role as the false nine, the 21-year-old Havertz was "insignificant," wrote the Guardian.
And Werner (25) was "easily" taken out of the game on the left wing.
Earlier, Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel had already come to the conclusion: "They did not have their best day."
Werner and Havertz have rarely seen better days since they switched last summer.
The highly talented Havertz is still looking for his ideal position in the team, as the only striker lacked orientation and penetration against the Portuguese.
The lightning-fast Werner is often used, but he has been lacking self-confidence not only since his strange miss against North Macedonia a week ago.
Compared to Havertz, the ex-Leipzig man could at least force his opponents to make mistakes at his own pace, the Telegraph found.
Nevertheless, like Havertz, he was replaced in the 65th minute.
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"I wanted to give a sign because I realized that it was a difficult match for Timo and Kai today," said Tuchel, explaining the measure.
The connection between the build-up players in midfield and the top three was "a bit lost".
The 47-year-old left the highly acclaimed goalscorer Mason Mount on the field longer.
“His skills on the ball, his quick passes, how he detaches himself from his opponents in a confined space” - that's how you could have described a Havertz in top form at Bayer 04 Leverkusen a year ago.
But this time the warm words of the Guardian referred only to storm partner Mount.
With a right-footed shot in the 32nd minute, the English international Chelsea had paved the way to victory.
A few minutes before the final whistle, Ben Chilwell (85th) made it 2-0 after a mistake by Portos Jesus Corona.
By then, Havertz and Werner had long since sat on the bench.
"We weren't able to involve them both in the game so well," said Tuchel.
"I noticed that they weren't playing at their highest level today."
They don't have much time to struggle in their complicated first Chelsea season.
Crystal Palace will continue on Saturday.
Three days later, the semi-finals should be made clear again against Porto and again in Seville.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210408-99-122732 / 3
Info about the game
Statements by Tuchel and Mount on the Chelsea homepage
Report in the Guardian - English