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Tuchel urged to drop Chelsea star for Champions League final

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Ahead of the Champions League final later this month, Paul Merson has urged Thomas Tuchel to make a bold decision.

Paul Merson reckons Thomas Tuchel should drop Timo Werner for the Champions League final against Manchester City.

Despite the German scoring the opening goal in Chelsea’s 2-0 second-leg win over Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals midweek, Merson believes ‘he shouldn’t play’ in the final.

The former Arsenal star believes Christian Pulisic is a ‘better finisher’ than Werner and would prove more troublesome for the City defense to handle in the final on May 29.

“Timo Werner scored a big goal for Chelsea against Real Madrid. But he shouldn’t play in the Champions League final,” Merson told Daily Star.

“Christian Pulisic should start against Manchester City – because he is a better finisher.

“I’d be shocked if Pulisic doesn’t play. He can beat two or three players, and he’s better in front of goal than Werner.

“I would play him against City this weekend and see how it goes. You won’t get 10 shots a game against City, so you have to play your best finishers.”

Despite a slow start to his Blues career, Werner has supplied 12 goals and 13 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions this season.

But while acknowledging the former RB Leipzig star’s quality, Merson reckons Pulisic suits Chelsea’s needs better.

“Werner did well against Real Madrid,” continued Merson. “He’s a handful, and he just keeps going and going.

“But Pulisic was unlucky not to play after scoring in the first leg, and when he came on he made a big difference.

“What he did to set up Mason Mount for the killer goal, checking his run and cutting it back, I don’t see Werner doing that in a month of Sundays.

“He doesn’t have that kind of composure. He would have smashed it across goal, probably without even looking, and the chance would have gone.”

Werner, though, had assisted Hakim Ziyech for Chelsea’s match-winner in the 1-0 FA Cup semi-final triumph last month.

He’ll hope to make a similar impact in the Premier League match coming up on Saturday evening.

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