Havertz points the way for Lukaku

Seven touches on Saturday, none on Tuesday. The decision to bench Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea’s Champions League win over Lille only adds to the scrutiny on his Stamford Bridge struggles.

"If you have to force it then it probably doesn't fit." That was the social media message posted by Lukaku recently, leading many to wonder if it was a comment on his predicament. Under the lights with a trophy to defend, Thomas Tuchel stopped trying to force it.

Instead, he reverted to the forward who scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the Champions League final in May. The forward who scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the Club World Cup final in Qatar as recently as last week. Kai Havertz delivered again.

"I am really pleased for Kai," said Thomas Tuchel. His effort, work rate and the volume and areas of the pitch that he covers for us is immense and very good. He is never shy of defending."

Tuchel may have highlighted Havertz's defensive work but it is time to start calling him a striker. This is no false nine. He comes short and he vacates the space, but he also runs in behind and he scores goals that any forward - Lukaku included - would love to score.

There was a run across the near post, gambling on the ball coming in. There was a header directly from a corner, just the sort of chance a genuine No 9 seizes upon.

The first was missed and the second was scored against Lille. Both came inside the first 10 minutes. Midway through the first half, Havertz had enjoyed 15 touches of the ball - more than twice as many as Lukaku had managed at Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Why did Tuchel prefer Havertz to Lukaku? "We focused on intensity, high speed and hard work off the ball," he explained. "Romelu struggled in the last games to