MY ACCOUNT
Timo Werner looks to be recapturing his best form since returning to RB Leipzig from Chelsea this summer.
The German striker, 26, was deemed a flop with the Blues after struggling to impress in two seasons having joined from Leipzig for £53million in June 2020.
But he has picked up where he left off at the Bundesliga outfit, scoring six goals in 10 games in all competitions this term.
As the Red Bulls prepare to face Celtic in the Champions League tonight, we look at what has inspired Werner’s return to form.
Written off
Werner became one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe during his first spell at Leipzig after scoring 95 times in 159 appearances.
When Frank Lampard’s Chelsea won the race for his signature in the summer of 2020, it was therefore seen as a real coup.
But that is also why his two seasons at Stamford Bridge can only be considered a big disappointment.
Having struggled to settle in England, the forward netted only 10 Premier League goals in 56 appearances across the two campaigns — albeit he did pick up a Champions League medal in 2021.
Werner quickly fell out of favour under both Lampard and successor Thomas Tuchel and by the end of last season, it was clear a move away was likely to be on the cards.
Happy at home
A £25.3m switch back to Leipzig gave Werner the opportunity not only for regular minutes but also to be one of his team’s main men once again.
Opening up on his mixed Blues spell and subsequent move, he said: “Personally, it wasn’t the very best time. I had imagined something more. I learned a lot, won the Champions League and other trophies.
“I enjoyed the two years abroad very much — and enjoyed London very much. I had one laughing eye and one crying eye.
“In Leipzig, not everything went so smoothly in the first few weeks, but the football under the new coach [Marco Rose] suits me very well and prepares me for what is required in the national team.”
Confidence player
Starting eight of Leipzig’s first 10 games in all competitions this season, there are signs that Werner is on the way up once again.
Like many strikers, confidence plays a part in his overall game — something that often looked visibly shot during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Scoring 36 minutes into his second debut for the club in a 2-2 draw with FC Cologne looked like the ideal start to regain that confidence.
But he would have to wait another six games to find the net again in the Bundesliga as he struck twice in their most recent outing — a 4-0 win over Bochum last Saturday.
The first of those, a tidy finish into the top corner, was his 100th in a Leipzig shirt before he latched on to a rebound to stab home his second after the break.
A hat-trick against German fourth-tier side Teutonia Ottensen in the DFB-Pokal at the end of August will have done him no harm either.
Things to work on
Despite that brace at the weekend, Leipzig boss Rose still feels there is more to come from his summer signing.
With team-mate Christopher Nkunku — a reported target of Chelsea — at his usual devastating best this term, he has challenged Werner and fellow striker Andre Silva to show the same ruthlessness on a regular basis.
The 46-year-old said: “They both need to reward themselves sometimes and shoot. It is incredibly important for them to score more goals.
“They have both been guilty of passing to team-mates in front of goal, instead of shooting, especially Timo. In training, they have been excellent.
“I want to see this on the pitch in the coming weeks because we have an unbelievable amount of games coming up.”
Celtic chance
Leipzig face Scottish champions Celtic at home tonight, with both sides looking to earn a first win in Group F.
Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys will be no easy opponent, with the Australian coach transforming them into a free-flowing and attacking outfit since his arrival at the start of last season.
That could mean opportunities on the counter-attack though, which may well play perfectly into pacey forward Werner’s hands.
The Germany international scored seven goals in 14 Champions League outings for Leipzig during his first spell but failed to find the net in his two games in the competition so far this term.
Following up his brace at the weekend by scoring tonight with the rest of Europe watching could be key to finding his clinical touch in front of goal again.
