Kai Havertz

[Vesper 28,787]

Havertz debut analysed: Smart link-ups, a huge slice and an 80-yard recovery run

https://theathletic.com/2066662/2020/09/15/havertz-debut-analysed-brighton-1-3-chelsea/

Before kick-off…

If he realised that the TV cameras in the near-empty Amex Stadium were trained on virtually his every movement during the pre-match warm-up, Kai Havertz betrayed no sign of it. He threw himself into the short sprints and ball work before Chelsea’s customary shooting drill, alongside fellow debutant Timo Werner. When he sent a right-footed shot flying off target, Havertz threw his head back to the sky with an expression of genuine angst. Within minutes another effort, this time with his left foot, nestled in the top corner of the net.

Frank Lampard, meanwhile, was talking about his two marquee signings to Sky Sports at pitchside. “I expect a lot of them in terms of the Chelsea players they’re going to be, because they’re fantastic talents,” he said before last night’s 3-1 win away at Brighton. “But we’re on matchday one. They’ve just moved (to England) and Kai’s trained for probably a week. Timo’s playing his first competitive game in the Premier League. We must give them time, we mustn’t expect everything in one evening, but they’re really talented lads.

“They’ve shown great character. I love the people that they are, and they’re showing to be good team-mates already. I expect the quality to come through.” Chelsea’s manager finished his forlorn attempt to manage expectations with a smile: “I don’t want everyone to expect a lot tonight — but quietly I sort of do.”

First minute: Chelsea’s formation was not immediately clear from the team sheet, but Havertz lines up on the right of the creative line in a 4-2-3-1. This is a bit of a surprise, considering many of his best moments as a Bayer Leverkusen player came as a No 10 or, more recently, as a false nine. But his natural tendency to drift out to the right before surging infield onto his left foot makes him a clean enough fit for the position Hakim Ziyech should make his own when he returns to fitness. Havertz stretches, takes a knee with those around him, then eases into action as Brighton kick off.

Chelsea’s average positions against Brighton (Havertz is No 29)

Sixth minute: The match is happening around Havertz; he can’t quite get involved. Brighton’s more assertive start has denied Chelsea any chance to find a rhythm and, for all his willingness to track Solly March’s forward runs and fulfil his role in the team’s collective pressing, he hasn’t touched the ball yet. Yves Bissouma chests the ball towards him under pressure from Jorginho. Now seems to be the chance. He darts forward to intercept… and collides with referee Craig Pawson. Bissouma spins away unchecked and the game goes on.

Ninth minute: Havertz’s first touch as a Chelsea player is an unspectacular lay-off back to Reece James from a throw-in, but the visiting team are finally beginning to get a feel for possession. The ball is worked into the feet of Werner with Mason Mount running ahead of him and Havertz looking to make up ground on the right. He plays it ahead of an overlapping Marcos Alonso, but Brighton clear the ball out of play.

10th minute: The first flash of Havertz’s preternatural instinct for running into space. Mount receives the ball on the half-turn just inside the Chelsea half and immediately clips a diagonal pass over the defence for his new team-mate to chase, with March labouring in his wake. It’s a smart play and one we’ll likely see a lot more this season, but on this occasion Mount’s pass is overhit and runs straight through to goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

14th minute: Brighton win their first corner and Chelsea fans around the world hold their breath. Lampard’s team were spectacularly bad at defending set pieces last season and now, with the shorter Werner up front in place of Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham, look even more vulnerable. The 6ft 2in Havertz is deployed at the front of four players zonally marking the edge of the six-yard box — a new defensive scheme for this season — with their team-mates tasked with disrupting or blocking Brighton runners. March’s delivery sails over the head of Havertz and James wins it at the back post. After a couple of nervy seconds, Chelsea clear the danger.

19th minute: Mount dispossesses Tariq Lamptey deep in the Brighton half and, after exchanging passes with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, whips in a cross from the left. Werner flicks it on and only the good positioning of Adam Webster prevents it reaching Havertz, who has quietly moved into a scoring position by the back post.

25th minute: Chelsea are ahead thanks to Jorginho’s penalty, but still aren’t playing well. Andreas Christensen is forced to throw himself in front of Steven Alzate’s shot on the edge of the 18-yard box and within seconds the ball drops, finally, to the feet of Havertz with space ahead of him. His first touch takes him away from Alzate, his second sets Werner darting into the empty opposition half with a passing angle that momentarily takes two Brighton defenders out of the game. They recover and, as Werner is forced to halt, Havertz sprints up to provide support. Werner eventually opts to shoot and Lewis Dunk makes the block.

34th minute: Havertz drifts all the way over to the left as Alonso prepares to take a throw-in. His first touch beautifully controls the dropping ball and sends it spinning into space in one motion. Ben White is forced to leave a surging Werner to cut Havertz off, creating a window for the pass — a pass that the German slightly misjudges. Dunk intercepts.

37th minute: A sloppy Havertz pass is deflected by Leandro Trossard and Brighton work the ball out to March by the left touchline. Havertz, eager to rectify his mistake, chases back and tackles both man and ball out of play.

42nd minute: Jorginho misplaces a pass to Havertz and he is forced to slide in on March, giving away a free kick. Brighton advance down the left and March beats Chelsea’s marquee signing off the dribble, but Havertz stays with the play and works with James to cut off the passing angles, eventually intercepting March’s attempted ball inside.

45th minute: By half-time, Havertz has touched the ball 18 times, joint-fewest among Chelsea outfielders with Werner. He has, however, won it back five times — more than anyone else in the team.

Havertz’s touch map against Brighton

53rd minute: An unfortunate moment that becomes an instant viral clip. Havertz receives the ball from Jorginho by the right touchline and dribbles his way inside, away from pressure as Brighton retreat. He tries to clip an easy pass out to Alonso on the left but slices it horribly, and it goes straight out of play for a throw.

54th minute: Havertz drifts into the middle of the pitch again to try to lead a counter-attack, but he’s unceremoniously muscled off the ball by Alzate and Brighton keep up the pressure. Within a minute, Kepa Arrizabalaga is beaten by Trossard’s shot and it’s 1-1.

56th minute: Chelsea advance down the left and March is forced to retreat to the edge of his own box to track Havertz, while Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante have also pushed up. James stands in the space vacated, controls a sideways pass from Jorginho and hammers an unstoppable shot into the top corner to restore the lead. Havertz is first over to embrace him.

64th minute: A lengthy spell of Chelsea possession eventually moves from left to right and Kante finds Havertz on the corner of the Brighton penalty area. He takes one touch, then slips a pass into the path of an overlapping James, whose cross forces Dunk to block a clever Werner flick towards goal.

66th minute: Havertz and James repeat their combination and March slides in to concede a corner. The resulting delivery from James is hooked towards goal by Kurt Zouma, and beats Ryan, via a deflection off Webster, to make it 3-1.

74th minute: March too easily beats Havertz to a Jorginho pass on the edge of the Brighton box with James committed to the overlap. He surges into a sea of space in the Chelsea half but as he approaches the penalty area his touch is loose and Havertz, who has sprinted back 80 yards to make up for his mistake, shields the ball with his body before clipping it to James and then collapsing in an exhausted heap. On the touchline, Lampard and everyone around him on the Chelsea bench burst into applause as Havertz slowly gets back to his feet.

76th minute: Jorginho wins the ball in Chelsea’s right-back spot and plays a sharp pass into the feet of Havertz. Sensing the approaching Webster behind him, he flicks the ball around the corner first time to Kante, who pushes forward. Ross Barkley, on for Loftus-Cheek, leads the break and eventually finds Werner, but a last-ditch White block denies his shot.

80th minute: Havertz makes his way back to the bench after being replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi. On his way, he gets appreciative pats on the back from Lampard and each member of his coaching staff. He leaves the field having touched the ball fewer times (38) than any other outfield starter bar Loftus-Cheek (27), who was substituted 19 minutes earlier. Nine of his 10 passes in the opposition half were successful, but there’s much more to come.

Havertz’s pass map against Brighton

Post-game

Sky Sports ask Lampard what he made of Havertz’s debut.

“I liked him,” he replies. “It’s not a game where you come away with 10 vintage moments, but I thought there were moments of real quality and calmness. It’s a big ask — there’s a lot on his shoulders, with the signing that he was, the fact that he’s young and coming to a different league. He plays the game at such a pace in terms of his quality, how he receives the ball, and we saw a few glimpses of that.

“We also saw him sprint back 80 yards to make a tackle having given the ball away. So everything I’ve seen of him in terms of his character is spot on. His quality is going to come through. It was asking a lot of him, but I thought we saw glimpses. We’re going to see a lot more of him — I think he’s a hugely talented young player.”

 

[Vesper 28,787]

Kai Havertz reveals why he struggled on his Chelsea debut

https://www.chelsea-news.co/2020/09/kai-havertz-reveals-struggled-chelsea-debut/

Kai Havertz made his Chelsea debut last night and had a quiet game, which was no surprise given the circumstances.

The fact that he started the game at all was more surprising, given how little preparation time he’s had, and speaking in quotes picked up by the Evening Standard, the midfielder revealed why he had struggled in his first minutes in English football:

“It was a very tough game, very difficult because I had long holidays and I came back and trained for five or six days with the team,” said Havertz. “More important is that we won so I am very happy to make my debut.

“The Premier League is much tougher than the Bundesliga. I have seen that in training and saw it in the game as well. But I am happy to play 80 minutes and hopefully next week I will continue.”

Frank Lampard is set to unleash Havertz against Liverpool on Sunday.

Havertz said: “Of course they are one of the best teams in the world. We show respect but we are a very great team as well. It will be a very hard game but for them also. We will work hard and I think we will have a chance to take points.”

Those are all very reasonable excuses, and let’s not forget he wasn’t being played in his best position either.

The vital thing for Frank Lampard and his team was winning the game, and they not only managed that, they also got 80 vital minutes of match fitness into their new signing. He will also have benefited from the time on the pitch with his new colleagues, some of whom he’s barely trained with.

The next few weeks will see him get fitter and more comfortable without doubt, and the more time he has on the pitch now, the faster he will progress.

[BXL70 396]

Ok, slow start against a poor team. But the young guy just joined our club and needs some time to adapt to his team-mates and PL.

[Jase 43,479]

Wonder how much the club paid Havertz to say this...  

‘I was dreaming as a kid to play in the Premier League and to play for Chelsea.'

[R2D2 368]

What a shit interview they kept asking him the same stuff.

On another note how the actual fuck did Havertz miss out on Golden Boy yet the Hudson invisible made it.

[Tomo 21,733]

2 minutes ago, R2D2 said:

What a shit interview they kept asking him the same stuff.

On another note how the actual fuck did Havertz miss out on Golden Boy yet the Hudson invisible made it.

No wonder we can't fix our reputation as a fanbase when some are abusing teenage academy players.

[NikkiCFC 7,942]

He said his best position is number 10.

[Jase 43,479]

56 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

He said his best position is number 10.

It might become (auxiliary) full back soon! 

[YorkshireBlue 3,122]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

Wonder how much the club paid Havertz to say this...  

 

 

Do they not hear each others questions ffs poor lad had to answer same question 4 times!!!!

[Unionjack 7,531]

24 minutes ago, BluesMadLad said:

Do they not hear each others questions ffs poor lad had to answer same question 4 times!!!!

It reminds me so much of all the podcasts on Youtube. They all regurgitate the same old shite, adding a different phrase,trying to make out that only their opinions matter and if you try to ask a question as to why they think that way and you offer a different opinion then they go deaf.

We know that very few reporters.media peeps are 'in the know' 

I looked on Twitter earlier to get a Chelsea fix as the Mrs is on there. I dont know how you could be active on there unless you are very wasted or brain dead. Or have a members only account! Is it a pawn site in disguise? BLIMEY! Looked like a Drs surgery in places.

[Vesper 28,787]

19 hours ago, Unionjack said:

It reminds me so much of all the podcasts on Youtube. They all regurgitate the same old shite, adding a different phrase,trying to make out that only their opinions matter and if you try to ask a question as to why they think that way and you offer a different opinion then they go deaf.

We know that very few reporters.media peeps are 'in the know' 

I looked on Twitter earlier to get a Chelsea fix as the Mrs is on there. I dont know how you could be active on there unless you are very wasted or brain dead. Or have a members only account! Is it a pawn site in disguise? BLIMEY! Looked like a Drs surgery in places.

Straight Outta Cobham

The Athletic's experts on Chelsea - Simon Johnson, Liam Twomey and Dom Fifield are alongside Matt Davies-Adams to take you behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge and bring you the very best insight on all the latest goings on at Chelsea Football Club

 

https://theathletic.com/podcast/139-straight-outta-cobham/

[Unionjack 7,531]

51 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Straight Outta Cobham

The Athletic's experts on Chelsea - Simon Johnson, Liam Twomey and Dom Fifield are alongside Matt Davies-Adams to take you behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge and bring you the very best insight on all the latest goings on at Chelsea Football Club

 

https://theathletic.com/podcast/139-straight-outta-cobham/

They aren't on YT 💋

[Vesper 28,787]

6 hours ago, Unionjack said:

They aren't on YT 💋

still a great podcast

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

On 14/09/2020 at 10:21 PM, Azul said:

Kai was played out of position, was nervous and lost confidence which resulted in him playing bad today. It's all on Lampard in my opinion. If he played at CAM from the start then he'd atleast give one assist to Timo for sure

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/09/08/honigstein-on-havertz--what-drew-him-to-chelsea--why-his-versati

Did you not read this bud, blows your assumption out the water, read it and learn.

[Unionjack 7,531]

34 minutes ago, bigbluewillie said:

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/09/08/honigstein-on-havertz--what-drew-him-to-chelsea--why-his-versati

Did you not read this bud, blows your assumption out the water, read it and learn.

Av still makes me smile mate. Lets hope its apt this week eh!

 

 

[Azul 1,615]

4 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/09/08/honigstein-on-havertz--what-drew-him-to-chelsea--why-his-versati

Did you not read this bud, blows your assumption out the water, read it and learn.

It's not just an assumption when it's coming from friends who regularly watch the Bundesliga. Yes Kai is versatile, however the position where he plays his best is the no.10 position. He is not as effective as a RW as he is a CAM whether you want to believe it or not.

[Special Juan 27,424]

Should never be played wide he must start in the middle to get the full effect from him.

[NikkiCFC 7,942]

3 hours ago, Azul said:

It's not just an assumption when it's coming from friends who regularly watch the Bundesliga. Yes Kai is versatile, however the position where he plays his best is the no.10 position. He is not as effective as a RW as he is a CAM whether you want to believe it or not.

Ironically last season:

AM: 25 games 4 goals 3 assists 

RW: 12 games 6 goals 5 assists