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Striking solution needed for Thomas Tuchel’s no-frills Chelsea tactics
Missing out: Timo Werner — and the rest of Chelsea’s strikers — have struggled in front of goal
(PA)Don't expect thrills. That was Thomas Tuchel's frank assessment ahead of Thursday night's trip to Liverpool.
It is becoming a theme for Chelsea since Tuchel took charge in January. His side may be undefeated in nine games, which has boosted their chances of Champions League qualification, but goals have been hard to come by.
In no game under the German have they scored more than two — and they have managed that on only three occasions. Sunday's 0-0 with Manchester United was their second goalless draw under Tuchel.
That despite Roman Abramovich spending a combined £116million on two of Germany's most potent forwards in Timo Werner and Kai Havertz last summer.
Chelsea will rival United, Manchester City and a host of Europe's leading clubs for Erling Haaland at the end of this season, but the question is: would even the brilliant Norwegian struggle to find goals in this team?
Because what is notable about Chelsea's bluntness in attack is not the amount of chances they waste, but the sheer lack of them they create.
Tuchel insists it is too early to draw conclusions, but his struggle to get the right balance in attack is clear, with Olivier Giroud, Tammy Abraham and Werner all failing to impress when asked to lead the line.
"Everybody expects you to be a mixture of the best players who have played here as a No9, so the level of expectations are super high," said Tuchel. "From outside, from me. Is that always fair? No. Have we created too many chances? No, but we have created enough touches in the box, we have enough recoveries in the last third, we have enough half-chances, deliveries to create more.
"We should not compare games against Manchester United, who defended at the highest level, an away game against Atletico Madrid and, for example, a game at Southampton where I was absolutely not happy and not convinced with our offensive performance. So, it's not a general thing that we have to worry and doubt about.
"That will maybe not change against Liverpool. Whoever expects us to create 10 big chances and go out of this match with six goals has a high possibility to be hugely disappointed. And will it become more easy for our No9, whoever will play there? No, probably not."
Tuchel accepts his possession-heavy approach encourages opponents to sit deep. That has been particularly damaging for Werner, who relishes exploiting space behind defenders. But City boss Pep Guardiola has had little difficulty in turning possession into goals during his time in English football, with the fluidity of midfielders like Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan capable of scoring from all angles.
Tuchel inherited a player in Havertz who has failed to replicate his Bundesliga form in the Premier League. But, in Hakim Ziyech, he has seen arguably Chelsea's most creative force wilt in a system that denies him the opportunity to utilise his greatest threat: his crossing.
How would Haaland cope with the scraps of service Giroud and Abraham have been forced to feed off? Or is it the case that Tuchel needs the individual brilliance of a Neymar or Kylian Mbappe, who thrived under him at Paris Saint-Germain?
Haaland certainly fits that description, but even if Chelsea are successful in their pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund star in the summer, they need to find their scoring touch now if Tuchel is to succeed in his minimum target of securing a top-four finish; starting tonight, when he comes up against champions Liverpool, who can leapfrog Chelsea with victory at Anfield.
Tuchel certainly rails against the suggestion he is a negative coach.
"Do we train always defence? No, not at all," he said. "We train always offence and still we are a super solid team defensive-wise. So it is very complex how to be solid and still capable of scoring. We are on it. It is not so easy.
“If we find a solution, hopefully everyone will see it. Right now, it is the advantage to be absolutely competitive on the highest level. This is what we have and, from there on, we start to find solutions."
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