Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admitted the absence of James Reece and Ben Chilwell has affected the team attack force.
The Blues will continue their UEFA Champions League title defence against Lille at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The focus was on Romelu Lukaku who has recently been struggling in front of goal and had just seven touches in Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Crystal Palace.
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The German tactician was asked about the team lacking firepower in front of goal following the absence of James and Chilwell.
He said, “Every style changes with long-term injuries of key players.
“We played the majority of our games in a back three with wing-backs and two of the key wing-backs are Reece and Chilly, who got injured at their peak level.
“They had a huge impact on our game offensively and defensively regarding Romelu with their runs, speed, penetration and their deliveries.
“We are not the only team where players have this huge impact and in the formation that we play, the wing-backs are in a crucial position to influence the game but still we can also play and win games without any player.
“This is our job and this is what we try to do when we have injuries or coronavirus cases.
” It’s on me to adapt and find solutions and Romelu will always be part of the solution.
“We have to deal with it.
“There is data out there and the data speaks a certain language.
“He was not involved in our game [against Palace], sometimes it’s like this with strikers if they struggle a bit with self-confidence or to find the space and get involved against a good defensive side.
“It’s not what we want and not what Romelu wants but it’s not the time to laugh about him and make jokes.
“He is in the spotlight and we will protect him because he’s our player.’
Addressing the issue of whether the team was set up too conservatively to maximise Lukaku’s strengths, Tuchel pondered the difficulties faced by many previous Chelsea strikers over the years and also admitted we need to improve in terms of chance creation.
“There’s even a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea so it’s not the easiest place in the world for strikers but I don’t know exactly why it’s like this,’ he added.
“Chelsea is considered a strong defensive team, a physical team that has a certain attitude and driven in playing competitive football.
“We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of defending.
“We want to be a physical, hard-working group that is not shy to make it a physical game, not only a skilful game, so maybe that plays a part.
“We had many games throughout our year together where we created many chances but struggled a bit in the conversion.
“Now at the moment it’s a time where we struggle to create too many big chances for our strikers and I think this is a normal period in a long season.
“We are well aware of it but like most of the time in football, there’s not one way to solve a problem.
“It’s a very complex sport and we try to keep on playing with belief in the team effort.’