In Wesley Fofana's absence, Leicester City's Jonny Evans and Daniel Amartey are perhaps not among the most feared defensive partnerships in the Premier League, but Chelsea's front three had plenty of questions to answer returning to Stamford Bridge.
Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling produced ineffective performances against Leeds United and had only produced one assist between them in their opening three Premier League cames. Chelsea required three points to ensure some momentum for the start of their season, and they needed a forward to provide the goods.
Thomas Tuchel veered away from his typical front three and seemed to field Ruben Loftus-Cheek alongside Mount, behind Havertz and Sterling. Loftus-Cheek enjoyed an outstanding afternoon, and looked to combine well on the right with Havertz, who was perhaps under more pressure than anyone else in the frontline, given he is so often the spearhead of the formation.
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Conor Gallagher's second yellow card saw that formation shortlived as the Blues reverted to their front trio before Mount was sacrificed at half time for another change in shape. Come the 45 minutes mark, the game lay goalless, Sterling was unable to keep the ball, Mount had struggled to get involved and Havertz impact was intermittent.
"I’ve played lots of positions and I like to have close connections up front with players," said Havertz ahead of the game. "I know as a number nine it’s also hard to play in England but I think I did it quite well in the last months. The game against Leeds was not good but I am working hard, I do the best that I can and try to get better every day."
It was not an afternoon where the former Bayer Leverkusen forward would have convinced his critics however.- Sterling was the figure who popped up with Chelsea's two goals - the first a deflected strike from the edge of the box and a poacher's finish for the second.
Havertz returned a display of frustration. He struggled to stay onside or retain the ball up against the physical presence of Amartey and Evans. The 23-year-old saw greater comforts in the moments he dropped deep to feed the likes of Reece James in the build up to Sterling's second, rather than being on the end of the chance himself.
There were some promising moments in build up play, but perhaps not enough to providing the goalscoring confidence he needs.
"It’s not easy to always get the consistency as a young player but my goal for the season is to play consistently on a good level," he added ahead of the match.
"Nowadays everything is about scoring goals and making assists. If you don’t do it, you played a bad game and everyone says it but for me football is about more than goals and assists so I try to show that on the pitch. I know that people criticise you on the numbers if you don’t score for two or three games. I know that and I feel it as well. It’s not a good feeling but when you play there [as striker] you have to score.
"I want to come into the position where I have the confidence to go into a game and think 'yeah, today you’re going to score' and to have that confidence again but it only comes through hard work and dedication. I try to do that every day and the rest comes by itself."
Despite a frustrating afternoon, Havertz was the only Blues' forward to last the duration of the game. He remained engaged, and was animated in conversation with Hilario Zsolt Low during the second half drinks break.
His influence unusually grew as Leicester pushed for an equaliser. Havertz disrupted Leicester's backline in a bid to relieve the pressure on Chelsea's defence. First the forward launched the ball away when he was coming back from a position that was well offside, before slowing it's path to Amartey.
The Foxes defender quickly showed his frustration and wasted little time bundling over his opponent but Havertz was able to retain the ball between his leg to continue to slow the process. It was only minutes later the pair came together again as Havertz fouled the defender before again claiming the ball and slowing Leicester's ability to take the free-kick.
As Havertz noted, playing on the forward line is about more than scoring goals. However, after four goalless games the spotlight will remain squarely on Havertz. Armando Broja, back on the Chelsea bench after injury, will likely be knocking on Thomas Tuchel's door hoping for an opportunity, and with the schedule picking up pace, he's every chance of earning one.
The other element is the prospective arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Chelsea are still hoping to land Tuchel's former charge with a fee and contract length in question. While goals are lacking from Havertz's game, his place in the team could soon be under threat and the how willing the Blues are to spend may be tested.
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