After it was reported that Timo Werner's strike against Zenit St Petersburg was compared to Holland icon Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart threatened to 'walk away' from a Dutch television screen.
On Wednesday night, the Chelsea forward demonstrated why the Blues paid £53 million for him in 2020, scoring twice in a 3-3 tie in Russia for Thomas Tuchel's side.
He opened the scoring after only 83 seconds on the night, then doubled his tally in the 85th minute after wriggling free of a number of challenges and blasting home.
The second goal enthralled the Dutch experts in the Ziggo Sport studio, with one comparing Werner's poise and movement inside the area to that of former Arsenal and Man United striker Robin van Persie.
Van Der Vaart, an ex-Spurs and Real Madrid player, was irritated by the analogy.
'If you compare Werner to Van Persie again, I'm going to walk away,' he remarked.
Werner has struggled to match his RB Leipzig form, which drew Chelsea's attention when he scored 17 goals in 65 games for the Premier League title contenders.
Despite only winning one league title, Van Persie is considered as a top-flight great, having scored 190 goals throughout his time with Arsenal and Manchester United.
During his brief time as a commentator, Van Der Vaart has not been reluctant to express his opinions on modern-day footballers.
He has frequently chastised Manchester United captain Harry Maguire, questioning why the English giants paid £80 million for the former Leicester City player. 'I can find three guys who can play like him when I go to see an amateur club on Sunday,' he claimed after United's 5-0 hammering by Liverpool.
'I really mean it. It's pointless to say it, but he won't hear you anyway. Here we're talking about a €90 million deal. Van Dijk, on the other hand, is worth €300 million.'
blogpay
