Romelu Lukaku was meant to solve Chelsea's striker issues. After another FA Cup loss, what should the club do?

LONDON — Nothing quite screams "Chelsea need a striker" as the sight of Ross Barkley playing at centre-forward in an FA Cup final.

It was a circuitous route to this most bizarre of situations, relying on a peripheral midfielder without any first-team minutes since Jan. 8 to help close out an occasion such as Saturday'sloss on penalties to Liverpool — but nevertheless provided evidence of the principal reason why a gap remains between the Blues and the top two sides in England.

— ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.) — Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) — Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

Preferred option Kai Havertz failed a late fitness test on a hamstring problem, Romelu Lukaku was substituted after 85 minutes, Christian Pulisic failed to impress when moved into the middle, Timo Werner sustained a hamstring problem in the warm-up and Ruben Loftus-Cheek lasted just 13 minutes before Barkley's superior penalty-taking record triggered his sudden inclusion for the final couple of minutes of extra time.

Barkley converted his spot-kick and so in that context, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will feel that particular decision was justified. Yet bringing on Loftus-Cheek in the first place so late in the game — at the start of the second period of extra-time — was by itself somewhat baffling given the proximity to penalties.

If Werner was still fit enough for the bench, could he not have played 15 minutes? And the curious picture of Barkley playing out time as a makeshift No. 9 is symbolic of a wider issue. With or without Lukaku, Chelsea simply have not been as cohesive in attack as Manchester City and Liverpool over the course of the campaign.

As was the case when these sides also met in February's