At the time of Romelu Lukaku’s ankle injury in mid-October, there was a theory that Chelsea might be better off without the Belgian striker.
After all, Thomas Tuchel had gone public with his concerns over the 28-year-old’s compatibility at Stamford Bridge with Lukaku going six games without a goal before a two-month spell on the sidelines.
Tuchel wasn’t wrong to ponder Lukaku’s role in his team. The £98m man was dropped straight into a team that won the Champions League without him and so a period of adaptation, from all concerned, was always likely.
Now, though, it’s clear Chelsea need Lukaku. Their Premier League title challenge depends on him staying fit.
Until Lukaku’s introduction at half time of the Boxing Day fixture at Aston Villa, Chelsea had struggled. The match was following a familiar pattern for a team that had won just three of their previous eight Premier League games with Villa taking the lead in a first half they had the better of.
While Chelsea welcomed back N’Golo Kante from injury, they struggled to contain the opposition runners. Ollie Watkins in particular enjoyed a lot of freedom down the left wing where Reece James was frequently found out of position.
It was from this area of the pitch where the opening goal came from as Matt Targett’s was afforded far too much time to get the cross in.
A lack of creativity has been an issue for Chelsea of late and this deficiency was evident once more at Villa Park as Tuchel’s team failed to create a single ‘big chance’ in the opening 45 minutes.
In the first half, Jorginho boasted the most possession won, the most fouls won, the joint-most duels attempted and the joint-most duels won, but none of this translated into final third actions, with Mason Mount failing to notch a single key pass.
With Christian Pulisic deployed as the number nine, Chelsea had no outlet - the American made just one touch in the final third in the first half.
Villa had success in swarming the visitors when they had possession, but even when Chelsea passed their way through the press their attacking patterns were too predictable. Everything was in front of the Aston Villa backline.
Lukaku changed this.
Instead of looking for a ball into the feet of Pulisic, Mount or Callum Hudson-Odoi, as was the case in the first half, Chelsea had the option of getting in behind - see the run from Lukaku which led to the stoppage time penalty from which Chelsea made sure of all three points.
Unfairly derided for being one-dimensional earlier in his career, Lukaku has flourished into an all-round centre forward. It’s true he has the physical presence to get on the end of crosses, like he did six minutes after his introduction off the bench, but the 28-year-old is most effective when he has the ball at his feet and space to run into.
This is perhaps where Tuchel previously saw Lukaku as something of a misfit for his team.
Under the German, Chelsea are all about limiting space, whether it’s been the defence and midfield or the front three who operate centrally, but Lukaku needs his teammates to open it up for him.
Chelsea showed a willingness to do this in the second half at Villa Park.
Despite being on the pitch for only 45 minutes, Lukaku registered six touches of the ball in the opposition box, completed four out of four passes inside the Villa 18-yard area, won five out of seven duels, scored and won a penalty.
When Chelsea found Lukaku, something happened.
It’s not just goal threat that Lukaku gives Chelsea. The Belgian offers them something different in attack. The knock-on effect of this is that others around him have more time and space to play their game, as proven by how Kante and Jorginho shifted 10 yards up the pitch and started to control the contest with Lukaku on the pitch.
The post-match remarks made by Lukaku about his preferred position were somewhat pointed. “I try to be less static and try to be on the move all the time,” he said when asked about his movement in the win over Aston Villa.
“That is my preferred action - running into space, using my speed and my power,” he added when asked about his run for the third goal, sending a message to Tuchel.
Tuchel has now seen how devastating a force Lukaku can be when he is harnessed, but also how the Belgian frontman rounds out Chelsea as a whole. The Stamford Bridge club spent £98m in the summer for Lukaku to be the final piece of the puzzle.
Now, though, that piece might be the thing keeping the whole picture in place.
