Leeds 0-3 Chelsea lessons learnt: Romelu Lukaku renaissance

2. Chelsea has no chance without Kovacic playing

Daniel James’ red card was extremely helpful for Chelsea insofar as it took a lot of the sting out of Leeds’ frantic attempts to get forward. It also allowed the Blues to build moves more methodically and more easily clean up any attempts by the home side to get forward. On the other hand, James injured Chelsea’s best central midfielder, leaving Tuchel with an incredibly difficult situation to sort out for this weekend’s match.

Thanks to James’ high, scissoring karate kick of a tackle, Mateo Kovacic reinjured the same ankle that has plagued him over the past couple of seasons. While there’s no definite diagnosis, the severity of the contact and Kovacic’s reaction certainly made it hard to believe he’ll be ready to go by Saturday. Even if he can play, there’s no way he’ll be at 100%.

It’s almost impossible to overstate just how good Kovacic has been this season. With N’Golo Kante showing some signs of slowing down and Jorginho being the same limited player he’s always been, Kovacic has been the most important piece in a Chelsea’s midfield that otherwise struggles to offer much at either end when he’s unavailable. Were it not for Mason Mount, Kovacic would probably be Chelsea’s Player of the Year. Regardless, James’ epitome of a “forward’s tackle” may have ended Kovacic’s season, leaving Tuchel with a concerning list of options in central midfield against the Reds. The cruel irony is that Liverpool’s midfield is arguably its weakest link, and would in theory be the area where Chelsea could assert some degree of control in the match.

Without Kovacic, that goal becomes much, much loftier.

Tuchel will most likely have to choose two of Kante, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Saul to start on Saturday. All four have their relative strengths, but none offer the versatility and two-way contribution Kovacic has consistently provided this season. Given that Liverpool is likely to have a midfield three to Chelsea’s two, that lack of dynamism is even more problematic. A complete change of system by Tuchel seems a bit drastic, but Kovacic is crucial enough that refiguring the team to cover for his absence might be the only way to give Chelsea a fighting chance.

All in all, it was absolutely necessary for the Blues to get three points from this match, and the red card for James made that a much easier task. In the end though, the price paid was far too high.