Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech were ‘very disappointing’ as Chelsea missed Mason Mount against Juventus, says Peter Crouch, as he compares German to Mesut Ozil
- Peter Crouch criticised Kai Havertz after Chelsea’s defeat by Juventus
- The midfielder was unable to have an impact as the Blues were beaten 1-0
- Crouch said he can look lazy and laboured despite being technically gifted
- The BT Sport pundit also compared the German international to Mesut Ozil
Peter Crouch says ‘technically gifted’ Kai Havertz can look ‘lazy and laboured’ after the midfielder endured a frustrating night in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by Juventus.
Havertz was brought back into the starting XI by Thomas Tuchel after being left out for the game against Man City but he found it difficult to create chances against a defensive Juve outfit.
He also wasted the best opportunity the visitors had when he headed over Ben Chilwell’s corner in injury time.
Peter Crouch (left) says ‘technically gifted’ Kai Havertz (right) can look ‘lazy and laboured’
While the German international is clearly talented, Crouch highlighted how he can be frustrating to watch at times – comparing him to former Arsenal man Mesut Ozil.
‘I thought Ziyech and Havertz were very disappointing,’ Crouch told BT Sport.
‘I think Havertz reminds me of Ozil, he does things where it comes easy to him and he looks technically brilliant but he can also look lazy and laboured at times and he can frustrate you and I thought tonight they were frustrating.’
Crouch also believes Chelsea were missing Mason Mount, who was unavailable for the game through injury.
Havertz found it difficult to create chances against a defensive Juve side on Wednesday
Crouch also compared the Chelsea midfielder to Mesut Ozil because he can ‘frustrate you’
He added: ‘He (Mount) has the same quality as those boys but there’s more urgency.
‘Tactically, he gets back in, he potentially works harder – he looks like he works harder. I think that’s the difference.
‘Allegri got it spot on tonight, they defended very well and made it difficult for Chelsea to break them down.’
Tuchel’s side will be looking to bounce back from two defeats when they travel to Southampton on Saturday.
The Blues boss admitted his team looked ‘slow and tired’ in Turin.
‘We’re all disappointed. It was the tough game we expected,’ he said after the game.
Crouch believes the Blues missed Mason Mount because he plays with more urgency
‘You have to play with zero mistakes in midfield and take the risks in the right moment. To do this you need to be in rhythm, good decision-making.
‘I didn’t feel us fresh today, mentally. We were in training yesterday. Today it was not like this. I don’t know why. If you need any proof, look at the two ball losses in the first half and the cheap goal we gave away.
‘I felt us slow, tired, mentally slow with our decision making. We had ball possession, high recoveries but two crucial ball losses. You can’t have this on this kind of level.’