Kai Havertz has hailed the influence that captain Cesar Azpilicueta has had on his early Chelsea career while also praising his tactics leading up to his Club World Cup final penalty.
Azpilicueta decided to hold the ball while the referee sorted out clearing the penalty area, which made it appear as though he was going to step up to take the penalty in the absence of Jorginho and Romelu Lukaku.
Havertz has revealed how this helped relieve the pressure on himself, who was always third in line to take a spot-kick.
‘Many goalkeepers are now preparing intensively for penalties and the shooters,’ Havertz said. ‘At the same time, the opponents try to influence and unsettle the shooter.
‘I can deal with that well, but our tactics helped me focus and prepare in peace. The opponents must have been confused,’ Kai added.
‘At that moment I focused as best I could and said to myself, "I'll put that in and we'll celebrate the trophy together!" Most of the time I try to read the goalkeeper and don't commit myself beforehand.’
Havertz also had words of praise for his skipper and serial winner Cesar Azpilicueta.
‘Azpi is just a great person and captain who I really appreciate. He helped me from day one and made it easier for me to arrive,’ Kai said.
Havertz has now scored the winning goal in the Champions League and Club World Cup in the space of a year – the first to do so since Lionel Messi achieved the feat in 2011 with Barcelona.
‘You are certainly not a legend at the age of 22, but you are part of the successful history of this club,' added the German. 'And that stays forever!
‘There are still many big titles to be won. This season alone we have the chance of the Carabao Cup against Liverpool, the FA Cup and we're still in the Champions League.’
The German striker has been nicknamed ‘King Kai’ for his final exploits but Havertz has revealed this has ‘come from the press’.
‘Those who know me know that I would never call myself that. Most people call me Kai. The King comes more from the press,’ he said.
‘We have a great team and great team spirit. Otherwise, we wouldn't have won all the titles.
‘I'm very happy to have won three big titles with Chelsea in a short time. Scoring in the big games is of course very special.'