Thomas Tuchel has told his goal-shy strikers he cannot give them an extended run in the team and wait for them to score as he explained why there is no time for patience at Chelsea.
The German's side host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday with a first-leg advantage courtesy of Olivier Giroud's spectacular strike in Bucharest.
But that is one of only three goals in Tuchel’s reign from players operating as the centre-forward, with the Frenchman scoring twice and Tammy Abraham, who is now injured, once.
Timo Werner has struck as a left winger but that is his only goal in his last 24 Premier and Champions League games while Kai Havertz, who has played in the middle of the attack in the last two matches, has not scored in his last 22 outings in those competitions.
Chelsea face Atletico without the suspended pair of Mason Mount and Jorginho, scorers of six of their 13 goals under Tuchel, and he admits it is “a little bit” of a worry that they are short of firepower in their absence.
Tuchel admitted he may make it harder for his forwards by constantly rotating his attack but argued they have to make an immediate impact.
“Maybe and then it is clearly my fault and I take that responsibility for changing but at the same time if we put a goalkeeper in goal we expect him to perform in that match and a defensive line-up, we expect them to have a clean sheet and not just one every three matches,” he said.
“If you arrive at the highest level, there is no time to perform. You are constantly in a competition with other players. There is no time to get four or five matches in a row to score regularly. It simply does not exist. This is not a secret.”
Tuchel used Saturday's 0-0 draw with Leeds to explain that Chelsea must become more clinical. He added: "The results are not so crazily bad that we ask if we did everything wrong. We create enough chances and half-chances and touches in the box to win games.
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Atletico 0 Chelsea 1: player ratings from first leg
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ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak - 6, Made some decent stops but had no chance of saving Olivier Giroud’s overhead kick. AFP -
Marcos Llorente - 6, Playing out of his usual position, Llorente struggled to get the better of Marcos Alonso. Was booked for a cynical foul on Werner after losing the ball cheaply. AP -
Stefan Savic - 6, Did a steady job making a lot of clearances, often benefitting from the protection in front of him. EPA -
Felipe - 7, Made some superb interventions, including a header to get rid of Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross, as well as clearance to deal with Timo Werner’s ball in. Reuters -
Mario Hermoso - 6, Showed good defensive awareness but the quality wasn’t there in his ball distribution, as his attempted clearance led to the goal. AFP -
Thomas Lemar - 7, Was often pinned back by Hudson-Odoi but put in a lot of good work defensively. PA -
Angel Correa - 6, Was very willing to sacrifice himself to help his team defensively, but sometimes did it too much. AFP -
Koke - 7, He’s Diego Simeone’s midfield general and the Spaniard’s pressing was outstanding. AFP -
Saul Niguez - 7, His positioning was superb, while the midfielder also used the ball sensibly whenever he had it. Reuters -
Joao Felix - 5, The Portuguese attacker was incredibly quiet throughout, though he did show discipline in his display. AP -
Luis Suarez - 6, Suarez was such a nuisance and almost managed to get under Antonio Rudiger’s skin with his antics, but was unable to test Edouard Mendy too much. PA -
SUBS: Moussa Dembele (Correa 82’) – N/R, Came in with Atletico chasing the game, but couldn’t get into any shooting positions. EPA -
Renan Lodi (Felix 82’) – N/R, Was fairly precise in his play but couldn’t help Atletico create the opening they needed. Getty -
Lucas Torreira (Saul 83’) – N/R, Came in and looked to replicate what Saul had done throughout the match. Reuters -
Vitolo (Hermoso 84’) – N/R, Didn’t leave a massive mark on the game, but definitely left one on Reece James. EPA -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 6, The stopper may not have conceded, but that is because he was rarely worked. He looked very shaky with the ball at his feet. Reuters -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 7, Did a superb job whenever called upon defensively, while also refusing to rise to Suarez’s antics. Reuters -
Andreas Christensen - 7, While there were slight lapses of judgement that resulted in giving away needless free-kicks, Christensen put in a resolute performance. EPA -
Antonio Rudiger - 8, The German made some vital interventions, such as a block shortly after the goal, and stood strong defensively throughout. Reuters -
Callum Hudson-Odoi - 7, Playing at wing-back, Hudson-Odoi threatened to open up the Atletico defence at times, while he didn’t neglect his defensive responsibilities. PA -
Jorginho - 6, Came so close to releasing his teammates in threatening positions, but his passes were just off the mark. Put in a good shift defensively. AFP -
Mateo Kovacic - 6, Made some great runs forward and battled well, but the Croatian’s decision-making could have been better at times. Reuters -
Marcos Alonso - 6, Did a very good job defensively, largely nullifying Atletico’s threat down the right, and got some decent deliveries into the box. EPA -
Mason Mount - 7, Got booked early on in the game, but continued to be a central figure in a lot of Chelsea’s attacking plays. There were moments of creativity, while his battling led to the opener. EPA -
Olivier Giroud - 7, Fought well with very few chances coming his way, but the Frenchman managed to score a beautiful overhead kick. EPA -
Timo Werner - 6, Missed a decent chance in the early stages but constantly showed for the ball and looked pretty sharp throughout his time on the pitch. EPA -
SUBS: Hakim Ziyech (Kovacic 74’) - N/R, Struggled to make a large impact, with his effort from range being blocked. AFP -
N’Golo Kante (Mount 74’) – N/R, Won the ball within seconds of getting on the pitch and showed plenty of energy. Reuters -
Reece James (Hudson-Odoi 80’) – N/R, His introduction made Chelsea’s shape more of a back five, and the 21-year-old stood strong. EPA -
Kai Havertz (Giroud 87’) – N/R, Showed his usual composure and helped to wind the clock down with some intelligent touches. EPA -
Christian Pulisic (Werner 87’) – N/R, Took a couple of big hits but carried on to help his side see out the game. AP
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"We had by far enough to win in Leeds with two goals ahead. We expect our guys to create more chances and to be more decisive. Nobody here is blaming the strikers. We are not pointing fingers, in Cobham we blame no one, but we can clearly improve on finishing.”
Werner, who scored 34 goals for Leipzig last season, has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund but Tuchel refuted those reports. He said: “Stop reading, stop reading. Read a book [instead]. He has no reason now to frustrated because he had an amazing match against Liverpool. Maybe all the stuff you read will hopefully disappear soon.”
Tuchel was a Champions League finalist with Paris Saint-Germain last year, though he used his experience to argue that is no guarantee he will not be sacked.
“Every team that plays in the round of 16 is there to win the competition,” he said. “You are never totally safe as a coach, that is a given. I won silverware in France and it came to an end.”
Atletico were criticised for their defensiveness in the first leg but can pick from a stronger squad with Yannick Carrasco and Kieran Trippier available again.
Chelsea have only conceded twice in 12 games under Tuchel and the German has been impressed by the defensive resolve Atletico have sustained over many seasons.
He said: “I believe that every club has its DNA and characteristics and with Diego Simeone Atletico became one of the toughest clubs in Europe to beat over many years.”
