There were ups and downs, but Werner can look back on a promising and productive first season that hinted at plenty more to come from the German in the future, not to mention the first silverware of his club career in the form of the biggest trophy of them all.

Despite some harsh criticism from outside, our new forward had a significant impact in the final third of the pitch throughout 2020/21, scoring more goals and providing more assists than any other Chelsea player in all competitions, while only Mason Mount made more appearances. He could also count himself unlucky that those figures weren’t even higher, as his five shots against the woodwork and two goals ruled out by VAR were also the most for the Blues.

Strong start

Werner arrived in west London with huge expectations given his statistics in his native Germany, perhaps ignoring the difficulty of adapting to life in a new country during the difficult circumstances of a pandemic, but his early performances suggested he may even surpass that optimism.

On his fourth appearance for Chelsea, he endeared himself to the fans by scoring his first goal for the club against London rivals Tottenham with a sharp turn and finish, even if it turned out the be in a losing cause as we were eliminated from the Carabao Cup in a penalty shoot-out.

That started an impressive run of eight goals in just nine games, including two braces and starring roles in the big Champions League wins over Krasnodar and Rennes. His best was saved for the Premier League, though, when he fired us into a two-goal lead against Southampton and then, after the Saints fought back, set-up Kai Havertz for the third in a 3-3 draw.

Teething problems

However, having moved to a new position on the left wing, the goals seemed to dry up for Werner in the early winter months. While his lightning pace was still a valuable asset out wide, and he popped up with some important assists in November and December, it was clear he wasn’t finding the same number of opportunities, which was affecting his confidence in front of goal when they did arrive.

Finding his feet

A slight tweak to Werner’s role in the team after the arrival of fellow German Thomas Tuchel as head coach, operating more centrally and with greater licence to roam, inspired a gradual upturn in form during the second half of the season, even if he didn’t hit the same prolific heights as his early months in west London.

That was demonstrated perfectly when he created both our goals in a 2-1 win over Sheffield United in February, but it was towards the end of the season when he really came into his own, especially when providing a key outlet for counter-attacks over the two legs of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, and scoring to give us the lead in the second game of the tie.

He made his mark domestically in the closing stages as well. The winning goals against Manchester City and Leicester City in the Premier League, which were so important to securing a top-four finish, both came from Werner assists, as did the Hakim Ziyech strike against Man City that booked our place in the FA Cup final.

Timo Werner 2020/21 Chelsea stats

Appearances: 52

Starts: 32

Substituted: 22

Unused sub: 6

Minutes played: 4,018

Goals: 12

Assists: 14

Timo Werner Premier League appearances 2020/21

Timo Werner played 35 games in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, coming off the bench for six of them.

Timo Werner Champions League appearances 2020/21

Timo Werner made 12 appearances in the Champions League this season, 10 from the start.

Timo Werner FA Cup appearances 2020/21

Timo Werner played four games in the FA Cup this season, all of them from the start.

Timo Werner Carabao Cup appearances 2020/21

Timo Werner played once in the Carabao Cup this season, from the start.

Timo Werner goals 2020/21

Timo Werner scored 12 goals for Chelsea in 2020/21, six in the Premier League, four in the Champions League and one each in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.