Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes Chelsea’s midfield is a major ‘problem’ for Thomas Tuchel and says it is ‘important’ for the new manager to find a solution before the end of the season.
Chelsea have largely impressed since former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat in January.
The Blues are yet to suffer defeat under Tuchel – recently beating Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie – but scoring goals has been an issue for the team.
Chelsea failed to break down Manchester United on Sunday in a 0-0 draw which saw the club stay fifth in the Premier League, and Merson believes the main issue is the midfield.
He told Sky Sports: ‘The problem is the midfield. Who’s got that defence-splitting pass?
‘When you play Chelsea, everyone’s behind the ball – even Manchester United, a top team, and they sat behind the ball, let’s be honest, and went from a base.
‘You’ve got N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. Between them, I’d like to know how many assists and goals they’ve got. They haven’t got a lot.
‘Kovacic has never scored at home with Chelsea. They dominate a lot of football matches, I like Kovacic, he’s a good player, but you need to kick on.
‘People have got to score goals. Jorginho, take his penalties away… That’s three midfield players who play in a team that dominate a lot of football matches during the season.
‘I mean, that’s amazing. Really, that needs to change. He’s got to change the game when the midfield players are getting in the box and it’s not too negative, when they’re all sitting outside the box.
‘I think in time he’ll have to turn that round but it’s important he does that before the end of the season.’
Tuchel will hope his Chelsea team find their goalscoring touch on Thursday evening when they visit Premier League champions Liverpool.
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