In what has been a difficult start to the season for Chelsea and, to some extent, Brazil, Willian has been an undoubted bright spot.
The ex-Shakhtar winger has 4 goals for Chelsea this season, 3 of which have been direct from free-kicks, and also scored for Brazil against Venezuela earlier this month.
Willian’s setpiece delivery has caught the eye most of all, and in an interview with the official Chelsea magazine, the 27 year old admitted that it’s an area he has worked on profusely, “I’ve been practising free-kicks for a long time, but until this season I haven’t had many opportunities to take them during the game,’ he says. ‘Now I have, and it comes from something I’ve been practising.
“I’ve been hitting the ball with a lot of intensity and I’ve found a way of striking them from wide on the left with a lot of pace and velocity so that there is a chance for my teammates to get a touch on the ball, but if it happens that no one gets a touch, it passes straight into the goal.”
Willian will be hoping to continue his eye caching form as Chelsea travel to West Ham tomorrow and the Brazilian believes that only hard work will reverse the team’s fortunes, “‘In my opinion, the way to turn things around is through the daily routine,’ says the 27-year-old.
“Every day, we come to train and that is where we have to do the work to change things. Then, in our performances on matchdays, we have to show the hard work we are doing on a daily basis to win games and turn the situation around.”
