How Chelsea's attack has been blunted under Thomas Tuchel: £98m Romelu Lukaku doesn't fit his style, his pressing system is failing and his strikers have four goals COMBINED in six games... he MUST tweak his front line in crucial clash against Brighton

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It was the problem Chelsea thought they had solved - that their goalscoring woes were behind them. Wishful thinking anyway, after spending £98million on one of the best forwards in the world. 

This was the season that things had to be ticking up top for the Blues, if they wanted to be genuine title challengers. Firing a blank against rivals Manchester City in their 1-0 loss on Saturday just summed up their ongoing inconsistency in producing the goods when it matters most this season. 

Indeed, just one shot on target against a team who were 10 points above you isn't nearly good enough - and neither is five goals from Romelu Lukaku, the man who was supposed to single-handedly deliver the Premier League crown to Stamford Bridge, after re-joining from Inter Milan.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has seen his attacking force become blunt in the last month

His side have lost their impetus up front with Romelu Lukaku (L) and Timo Werner (R) cutting isolated figures in their defeat to Manchester City

Chelsea have 45 goals in the league this term - not bad going in the grand scheme of things, but they are still some way off the top bracket led by City and Liverpool, who have nine and 10 more than them respectively. 

That is the standard if you want to be in the title conversation, and Chelsea haven't been at it. Of course, things haven't always been in their control - unlucky with injuries, Covid and Lukaku's attitude, it just hasn't gone their way. 

With a must-win game coming up against Brighton tonight, Sportsmail assesses the issues Thomas Tuchel is facing up front and what he can do to inspire better performances from his forwards for the remainder of the campaign.

Unhappy Lukaku doesn't fit Tuchel's system 

The Belgian was a problem even before he opened his mouth about being unsettled at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel did well to quash that dilemma and nip things in the bud by getting an apology out of him for his unauthorised interview with Italian media, but it hasn't helped bring out the old Lukaku. 

The thing is - we knew that Lukaku didn't suit Tuchel's style of play before he said it himself. So it's nothing surprising, but the player himself coming out with it only makes his coach's role more challenging.  

'Tuchel and I are trying to find a tactical system where we can "find" each other - a way to help the team because the situation [PL table] is a bit complicated,' he said in his bombshell interview.

Lukaku isn't a good fit for Tuchel's system and prefers to play in a counter-attacking team

'He made his choice - I keep working, at a certain point I'll speak with Tuchel and we will see the situation.' 

Lukaku thrived under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan last year - in a system that helped him finish on 30 goals. That is the player Chelsea thought they were getting, but he hasn't been able to get into his groove under Tuchel's guidance. 

Like Conte, the German also plays a back three but focuses more on pressing rather than counter attacking, a style in which the former Man United star thrived in.  

Chelsea didn't have much of a sniff against the Premier League leaders at the weekend, but during one particular counter attack Lukaku found himself through on goal after being played in by Mateo Kovacic, but fluffed the chance when 1v1 with City keeper Ederson.

Lukaku has had much publicised tension with the German and criticised his tactics in the press

He missed a gilt-edged opportunity when put clean through on goal in the loss to City 

To Lukaku's credit, he has two goals in the three games he has played since he caused controversy with his interview - which has coincided with a poor run of form that has seen them pick up seven points from their last six games.

He has played fewer minutes than some of his team-mates after being dropped over his outburst - but has managed just four shots - three on target - in each of those three games.

His partnership with Lautaro Martinez at Inter was a big factor in his success, but he hasn't been able to replicate that with Timo Werner. The pair were largely stifled at the Etihad on the weekend and failed to score in the Carabao Cup against Spurs. 

In the previous leg, he was paired with Kai Havertz - who found the back of the net - while a handful of chances went begging for Lukaku.  

Forwards stifled by Covid, injuries and over-rotation 

Chelsea can count themselves unfortunate to have grappled with a serious Covid crisis and mounting injury concerns this season. That's affected every team of course, but the Blues look to have been hit particularly badly - and their attack has been hurt in the process.

Andreas Christensen was the latest player to test positive for Covid and missed the City game as a result - the virus surging its way through his squad in recent weeks and forcing Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to isolate at different points.

Meanwhile, a terrible injury crisis has seen him lose both of his first choice wing-backs on either flank in Reece James and Ben Chilwell - forcing him to withdraw Kenedy from his loan at Flamengo, while Emerson Palmieri could also be called back from his temporary switch at Lyon. 

Injuries to Ben Chilwell (L) and Reece James have hampered Chelsea's progress in attack

When asked about the difference between Chelsea and City before their slim defeat on Saturday, Tuchel suggested their rivals were more fortunate to keep a core group of players together for most of the season.

'The biggest difference is they dealt better with injuries and the Covid situation,' said Tuchel. 'Maybe lucky, maybe they do it better. Less injuries to key players, less days out and less weeks when they miss them. They did not suffer like we did. 

'We have injuries at wing-back. We have suffered a lot. We suffered a lot in midfield from Covid and injuries, and now the midfielders are coming back we suffer in central defence.'

The lack of available players has forced Tuchel to rotate on several occasions, and that absence of a regular attacking team has been felt. Chelsea have an embarrassment of resources up front and are lucky enough to call upon a host of talented forwards - or at least players who can step up in that role, but the ongoing uncertainty in the squad has had an impact on performances.

Chelsea have been hit hard by a Covid outbreak in the squad - with Timo Werner affected 

Since their torrid run beginning on December 16, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount have both played six league games, while Callum Hudson-Odoi has played four times. Ziyech has featured three times, with Havertz playing just once. 

The damning truth is that all of Chelsea's forwards have just four goals between them during that six-game run, with every player underperforming when it comes to expected goals, except Lukaku.

Pulisic has been the man Tuchel has turned to in attack during Chelsea's ongoing crisis of injuries, Covid and the Lukaku crisis. His only goal was in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool, but had an overall xG of 1.71. He also has a 14.3 per cent conversion rate, being presented with four 'big chances', but finishing just one.

Mason Mount has been left with the burden of Chelsea's pressing amid ongoing injuries 

Mount, meanwhile, has played slightly less than the American but has managed the same lone goal - with an xG of 1.51. He's produced more shots (16) to Pulisic's seven - but has a far worse conversion rate (9 per cent), scoring one of three 'big chances'.

Hudson-Odoi has only started twice in this run, and has yet to hit the back of the net, managing just nine touches in the opposition box and 92 touches in total - with five shots and an xG of 0.68. 

Tuchel has had to bring them all in during separate intervals in between Covid infections - which will no doubt play a part too. Fluency and knowing who your best attackers are is so important and it has has played a part in derailing their title challenge so far. 

Tuchel's pressing system is collapsing 

Chelsea might be in the midst of an injury crisis in defence, but make no mistake this has had an impact in the way they attack teams. James and Chilwell - out for the season - played a big part on how Chelsea built up play.

They provide a constant flow of assists, but also act as a pressing and running outlet, integral to the way Tuchel's teams play. The German himself admitted he was forced to tweak his team against City to make up for their absences by fielding players who could run in behind with Ziyech and Pulisic. 

That forced Tuchel to leave Mount out of his starting XI to face City, with the England star giving his coach his infamous 'angry eyes'. The academy product has been essential when Chelsea look to press teams and Tuchel admits he 'loves' the midfielder, but had to switch things up yet again in Manchester. 

The England star is being hurt without the presence of James and Chillwell running beside him

'He is here to play these kinds of matches, but we were simply opting for runners. We thought we could break the line more often with Hakim [Ziyech] as a left foot on the left side and going for Christian [Pulisic] as a right side.

'Normally, he is a bit more offensive and he's a bit more of a runner than Mason, and we expected the spaces more behind the last line and not in front of the back four from City. 

But in the games where they are expected to win, Chelsea rely on their forward players doing the bulk of the pressing and the presence of Mount is vital in that respect to make the team tick.

And he's had to work even harder without Chilwell and James on each flank, with his two England team-mates normally bombing down the wings and allowing him to focus on arriving in the box and adding to Chelsea's goal tally. 

Tuchel's pressing at Chelsea hasn't been going to plan of late amid a dip in results 

Lukaku in particular has been guilty of a lack of intensity, with his pressing stats ranking among the lowest in Chelsea's attack

Tuchel was pressed on the matter, being asked if Mount was missing Chilwell given their quality link up for club and country, replying: 'Yes, that's a good point. I think he's also missing Reece James.' 

Mount ranks as one of Chelsea's top performers when it comes to pressing - with stats by Opta highlighting just how much of a focal point he is to Tuchel. He has completed 190 pressures in the last six games, pressing his opponent 37.3 times per 90 minutes.

Pulisic has come out on top with 202 pressures and 35 per 90 minutes, but their fellow attackers appear to be letting them down. 

Ziyech has the next best total with 83 pressures per 90 - amounting to 33 per minute - with Callum Hudson-Odoi making just 78 and 37.1 per 90. But Lukaku is by far the worst of Chelsea's forwards of late when it comes to pressing -  with just 69 overall and 27.6 per game.

It's clear that Lukaku's performance slow down Tuchel's pressing system entirely, forcing his team-mates to become overloaded - and with Covid and injury problems further disrupting the squad, that issue has become exacerbated.