Romelu Lukaku 'taken out of the next fire', so is Kai Havertz Chelsea's short-term striker solution?

The questions directed at Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel before and after his side's Champions League last-16 first-leg win over Lille centred around Romelu Lukaku.

Before the game, the German said it was «not the time to laugh» about the out-of-form Belgium striker.

After the 2-0 victory, where he had left his £97.5m summer signing as an unused substitute, Tuchel added it was «the moment to take a step back».

In the match itself, it was the man who started up front in Lukaku's place, Kai Havertz, who scored the opening goal and added to his growing reputation as Chelsea's man for the big moments.

With the League Cup final against Liverpool next up on Sunday, is Havertz now Chelsea's best option to lead the line at Wembley?

It took just eight minutes for Tuchel's trust in Havertz to pay off on Tuesday as he rose to head home from a corner.

The German forward already had two good chances before then and by the end of a busy first half he had touched the ball 23 times.

In comparison, Lukaku had just two touches of the ball in the first half against Crystal Palace on Saturday, with one of those for the kick-off.

But it was for the focus on such numbers — not an indication of his lack of faith in the striker — that Tuchel decided not to start the former Inter Milan and Manchester United player against Lille.

«It was not the moment after the match, where everyone was focused on his few touches to put him into the next fire,» said the Chelsea manager.

«It was the moment to take a step back, that was the decision and that's it.

»We have now had a good win and all the questions are still about Romelu, so the focus is huge. There are nine other players who did not play and we should never forget that we consider this sport a team sport."

Wi