Chelsea at Malmo: Three lessons learnt in Blues’ big win
2. Chelsea needs a striker sooner than later
The aforementioned absences of Lukaku and Werner have undoubtedly taken their toll of the team during this run of games. While the Blues haven’t suffered in terms of statistics (most notably wins and goals scored), they haven’t taken as many of their chances as they possibly should. This is displayed recently by Chelsea’s xG of 3 against Malmo, a game in which the west London side only rattled the back of the net once via Hakim Ziyech. Kai Havertz—who played up top as the lone No. 9 on the night—was involved in the build-up, yet, fans need to see more from the German. It’s worth noting a false nine is not exactly his best position. He was struggling to find his footing even before moving up top, so the forced positional change hasn’t exactly helped.
Havertz’s last goal came in the reverse fixture against Malmo, a 4-0 victory for the Blues. The contest in question was played two weeks ago, so the wunderkind isn’t exactly in a scoring drought, but he’s not finding the back of the net as much as he should be. Havertz has just two goals this season out of a combined xG of 2.3 throughout all competitions. The problems are not glaring per se, he has just had chance after chance to put the ball into the back of the net and failed for one reason or another. A quick glance at his advanced statistics will tell the story of a playmaker being thrust into an unnatural role. Havertz hasn’t looked out of place, his talent is just being, for lack of a better term, wasted, up top. His inability to score when playing as a lone striker combined with his unselfishness have led to those around him stepping up. Reece James’ brace at Newcastle and Ziyech’s tidy finish against Malmo are the most recent examples of this.
All of this serves as a reminder that although Chelsea broke its club record fee to bring in Lukaku this summer, it also allowed two strikers (Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud) to walk. The Blues have plenty of players who are able to play in the No. 9 role in Havertz, Werner and even Pulisic in emergency situations, but they aren’t the most impactful. Tuchel has reportedly asked the club to go and get him another striker during the winter transfer window. Although the move may seem puzzling when one considers the Lukaku acquisition, it makes sense in the long run and in case of injury. The purchasing of a solid back-up forward would allow Chelsea to keep its creative players where they belong while maximizing its chances in Lukaku’s absence.