CHELSEA were hugely lucky to take all three points at Brentford on Saturday evening, make no bones about that.
The home side deserved at least a draw and Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, who spent the last 20 minutes defending their hearts out as if they were holding out to win a Champions League final, would have had no complaints.
Tuchel will be annoyed, even though he has come away with all three points against a good team in good form.
Of course, all that matters really is the result and that The Blues are still sitting top of the Premier League.
However, Chelsea were worryingly lacklustre in the final third AGAIN and it is not the first time this season.
Romelu Lukaku, once again, cut a frustrated figure with his lack of service in the number nine position.
Chelsea and Tuchel need to find a way to get the very best out of the Belgium international, because right now he is pretty much just a spare part in this side.
It’s not that he has been poor, it is just his Chelsea team-mates are letting him down by not providing him with enough creativity to set him free.
Chelsea lack a creator. They lack a player like Mo Salah or Kevin De Bruyne, who ironically both used to be Chelsea players.
Or to keep it Chelsea related, they lack a Cesc Fabregas in a deeper playmaker position.
Tuchel lined up with a midfield three today with Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the holding role, and N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in the ‘attacking’ 8 positions.
These two are both great midfielders, but in reality they do not bring ANY creativity. None of them have the magic or bravery to make that defence-splitting final pass to create more chances.
Chelsea need to find a new Eden Hazard, a player who can make things happen from nothing, a player that can beat two or three defenders and create a goal.
At the moment, there’s no one who can find a pass that breaks the lines in an instant to create a chance, or someone who is brave enough to try something different.
Although Chelsea won today, I do fear that they might need to pursue this type of player in January if they are to want to win the title.
It could mean that Kai Havertz has to step up to the plate and justify the hefty price we paid for him last summer.
They certainly need more in the final third, and they certainly need to feed Romelu Lukaku.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
