Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner has revealed how repeatedly having his goals ruled out during his first season at Stamford Bridge negatively affected his confidence and performances.

The German forward claimed that as many as 16 of his goals were disallowed during the campaign, with some decisions taking several minutes for video assistant referees (VAR) to review.

Speaking on The Late Run podcast, Werner admitted that although he accepted some offside decisions, he felt several others were particularly frustrating.

He explained that the repeated disappointment of celebrating goals only to see them overturned gradually affected his mentality and energy on the pitch.

“You feel like goals are being taken away from you again and again. Your energy drops, your confidence drops. Then you start missing chances, one after another. That’s the worst thing that can happen to a striker,” he said.

Werner joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in 2020 after an impressive spell in Germany. Despite struggling to maintain his goalscoring form in England, he helped the Blues win the 2021 UEFA Champions League.

His struggles with VAR also attracted attention during the 2021/22 campaign, with then-manager Thomas Tuchel previously expressing frustration over the number of goals ruled out against the forward.