Graeme Souness says ’s strikers do not match the quality they have in other departments after the Blues suffered a shock defeat to .
Chelsea’s inconsistent form continued at Goodison Park on Sunday as ’s Toffees secured a 1-0 win to boost their survival hopes.
Everton were five points from safety going into the fixture but closed the gap on 17th-placed Leeds United and 16th-placed Burnley to just two points thanks to Richarlison’s second-half winner.
Chelsea’s front three of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Mason Mount struggled to create many openings against a spirited Everton side and Souness believes Tuchel’s frontline is his biggest problem.
Club-record signing Romelu Lukaku has endured a miserable season at Stamford Bridge, while Havertz and Werner have somewhat flattered to deceive since moving to west London, with Chelsea 17 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City with four games remaining.
‘Chelsea are a team that don’t really have strikers they should have for the qualities in other departments of the team,’ Souness told Sky Sports.
‘For the money they’ve spent, they should have a lot more than what they’ve got, for me. [Timo] Werner, four goals.
‘They’ve been confronted here by an Everton team who have been very aggressive, they haven’t matched that aggression.’
Tuchel admitted Chelsea’s form was a ‘concern’ after the Goodison defeat and urged his side to bounce back as they look to finish the season on a high.
While the Blues were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last month, they could yet lift some silverware before the end of the season, with Tuchel’s side facing Liverpool in the FA Cup final on May 14.
‘It is disappointing because over the last four matches we don’t have enough points for what we want and it is concerning,’ Tuchel said.
‘We have one clean sheet over the last four matches and it is far too easy to score against us. We can’t stop doing individual mistakes.
‘We struggle to have repetitive top performances. Today was an OK performance but OK is not enough. We conceded in the first minute of the second half and it becomes more difficult.
‘The way we gave this goal away was absolutely unnecessarily. If we keep on giving goals away it ends up in the results we have had recently.
‘We were not on the highest level. We trusted the team. Maybe we could have changed more. That is something I will reflect on personally.’
, .
, and .
