Talking Tactics: Poch needs quick fix to Chelsea's goalscoring woes

Chelsea were brought back to reality against Brentford last Saturday and must once again rebuild their fragile confidence. 

The Blues looked to have turned a corner in recent weeks, recording a four-match unbeaten run. 

That spell came to an end at Stamford Bridge when Mauricio Pochettino's team lost 2-0 to their West London neighbours.

Ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup fourth round match against Blackburn tonight, we take a look at their struggles to find the net. 

Poch's underperformers

It was a familiar story against Brentford. Despite having 17 efforts on goal, only two were on target and Chelsea drew another blank. 

They have failed to score in four of their 10 Premier League games this season, with three of those disappointments having come at Stamford Bridge. 

Chelsea have the ninth highest xG in the Premier League at 19.23, which is not far behind those of their London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. 

Yet they have scored a mere 13 times. Only Everton have underperformed against their xG to a greater extent this season. 

A potent Chelsea could be flourishing. Their tally of 11 goals conceded, sees them rank joint-sixth alongside Newcastle among the top flight's meanest defences. 

They have just 12 points, however, in contrast to their expected tally of 18.19 — this is the biggest underperformance in the division.

The problem is obvious but the solution is not simple, with a lack of goals being a long-standing issue. 

Confidence evaporated

Last season, Chelsea scored 38 goals in the Premier League — only four teams managed fewer. 

Lacking a regular scorer, they signed Christopher Nkunku in the summer who played in a deeper role at RB Leipzig and has been injured since August. 

Nicolas Jackson, 22, was also brought in, after scoring 13 goals for Villarreal in 2022-23. Both players represented gambles rather than ready-made improvements.

Yet this is a problem that goes deeper than the first-choice No9, with the entire team's confidence in front of goal having evaporated. 

Raheem Sterling's tally of nine last season was his lowest total since he broke into Liverpool’s team in 2012-13. 

Conor Gallagher looked like an effective goalscoring midfielder while on loan at Crystal Palace but has yet to find the net in this campaign. 

With two months before the transfer window reopens, Pochettino must find solutions from within. 

Palmer solution

It was a surprise to see Jackson picked as Chelsea's striker in the defeat at Brentford, after Cole Palmer had excelled as a false nine in last month's 2-2 draw with Arsenal. 

Speaking after that game, Palmer spoke about his role and performance. 

The 21-year-old forward said: "I found out the day before I was going to be playing as a false nine, in the pocket. 

"I spoke to the manager, he told me what he wanted from me and I believed I could do it because I've played there before. 

"So I just tried to get in the pockets, turn and play well." 

Palmer could be the best temporary solution for Pochettino, with Nkunku still unfit and Jackson yet to settle. 

In January, Chelsea could target available strikers such as Brentford marksman Ivan Toney or Napoli sensation Victor Osimhen. 

With an extremely tough run of fixtures coming up, the question is whether Stamford Bridge chiefs will be in any sort of position to attract such a player.