The Blues have been misfiring despite their unbeaten run and are looking for answers to their woes in front of goal
Thomas Tuchel insists that he isn’t dreaming of a new striker coming into Chelsea in the summer and he believes that focusing on the basics can ensure the club’s current stars find their scoring touch.
Kai Havertz started as a false nine and missed the Blues’ biggest chances in the 0-0 away draw with Leeds on Saturday to join the likes of Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic in struggling with his finishing.
Though Chelsea are on a 12-game unbeaten run under Tuchel, they have scored just 13 goals, with Olivier Giroud the top-scoring forward with two strikes. Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland is understood to be a top target to improve Chelsea’s forward line.
What has Tuchel said?
“It is not time to reflect for the summer and other solutions, other than what we have,” Tuchel said about the transfer market. “We have guys that we are happy with and are looking for more solutions; we will try to help them.
“In general, I am happy because we don’t only look at the output in how they score and assist. Of course, this is a statistic in which every striker is attached to and everyone has to have the mentality to cope with the statistic. It is like this at high-level football.
“We are still waiting for a breakthrough for the guys to be on a run to score consistently, it is not the case. We will never stop pushing and looking for solutions to create even more clear chances for them. That’s the way it is.”
Is there more Tuchel can do to help his forwards?
Chelsea’s recent success has been built on a solid defensive approach while they are waiting for their forwards to click with a new tactical outlook.
At Elland Road, six of their eight forwards featured and Tuchel doesn’t believe that there’s much a coach can do to find goals from out-of-form strikers.
“It is not so much about the coaches that they have but it is in their blood [to score]; it is in their approach to this game,” he added.
“Timo is clearly one of these guys who has always scored a huge amount of goals and defined himself as the guy who has the last touch on the field. This is a very unique character and position. It is a sensitive position.
“I believe it is not important who is coaching them to shape their goalscoring mentality but we are here to help everybody and at the moment for us it is important to keep them focused on the process and help them.
“It is not just to look at the result, whether the ball is in or not in, it is the process that matters and it can help you escape the pressure that they put on themselves. They should ask themselves is my decision making good, is my technique good, is my vision clear enough.
“If you focus on these points, hit the ball well and the result will take care of itself. That means you will find the back of the net soon. If you hit the ball, close your eyes and hope for the love of God, then that’s what we try to implement and help.
“Of course, we have some exercises in training for finishing but it is clear you can train, show videos but, in the end, a striker just has to score. That’s what you need for confidence and there’s no substitute for that.”
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