Tuchel tries to ease pressure on Werner ahead of Real clash

Thomas Tuchel has insisted he is “pretty relaxed” about Chelsea’s shortage of goals and defended Timo Werner.

The Blues have been superb defensively since Tuchel took over as boss in January but have had problems at the other end of the pitch, where striker Werner has struggled in front of goal.

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Fulham was the first time in six matches Chelsea had scored more than once.

And the misfiring Werner is in the spotlight ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.

But Tuchel said: “It’s a team effort – how we defend and how we attack – so everybody needs to step up and take responsibility for scoring and for defending.

“We create enough chances to score more goals. This will come maybe with time, more experience, a bit more adaptation or self confidence.

“I’m pretty relaxed about it and trust my players no matter who starts tomorrow.

“We do this as a team. Nobody has to do it tomorrow alone. There are many situations to solve tomorrow – we should not get distracted by thinking only about who is scoring.

“We will try to create chances and have intensity and from there we trust our guys.

“Timo himself wants to score. I think we have to accept that strikers miss chances and even big chances. This is part of the game.”

Antonio Rudiger is set to play wearing a protective mask but the injured Mateo Kovacic remains sidelined.