When Kai Havertz scored after just eight minutes against Lille, Thomas Tuchel's hopes to take Romelu Lukaku out of the firing line went up in smoke.
The German international had already spurned a couple of early chances as he, along with Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech, showed plenty of fluency before rising to meet the Moroccan's corner to put Lille one goal behind.
"It was not the moment after the [Crystal Palace] match where everybody was focused on the few touches that he had to put him right into the next fire," Tuchel explained. "It was the moment to take a step back. That was the decision and that’s it."
"You can clearly see we had a strong win but almost every question is about Romelu. The focus is huge.
"There are nine other players that didn't play and we should never forget it is a team sport. I think he was tired, a little bit exhausted, lot of extra time, lot of travelling like some of the players."
The impact of the result was clear. It was probably the right time to take Lukaku out of the action but victory over Lille has also built the case for some that he should also not start against Liverpool and beyond.
His lack of impact against Crystal Palace has been well-documented, but that standout statistic helped cover up poor performances from Havertz and Pulisic too. Neither exhibited the cut and flow which they displayed at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
They saw more of the ball than their Belgian counterpart but produced little with it. The metrics were obviously much improved in the Champions League outing, with Pulisic finding more success with his driving runs in the centre, despite being on the left on the front three, while Havertz's movement was much more influential leading the line.
Tuchel appreciated more than their goals.
The 48-year-old said: "It was good because the focus was on work-rate and the focus was on intensity and effort and that is what we got. That is a key point in our performances and success."
There are clearly doubts whether Lukaku can provide all of that, though he does remain Chelsea's top goalscorer this season. After starting every game since the Liverpool match following his Sky Italia interview, Tuchel suggested his forward was both mentally and physically tired.
It was in those areas Chelsea's front three seemed to thrive however.
Following the match Pulisc said: We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and show them what we're all about and that's what makes us really strong. Constantly defend, constantly press and constantly put a lot of pressure on the opponent.
"I'm feeling very good, trying to grow confidence and get some rhythm. It's good to be playing, feeling really good at the moment."
It leaves Tuchel in a difficult position heading into the the Carabao Cup final. The Blues have earned two draws this season against Liverpool, once with Lukaku and once without.
Havertz is the 28-year-old's main competition for the position and, rightly or wrong, the German's header is much fresher in the memory that Lukaku's two strikes during the Club World Cup.
"We have a lot of good strikers," said Havertz follwing the win, "It’s good to have a change to not make it easy for the opponent. It worked good, but I enjoy every position."
The 22-year-old clearly sees himself as being out-and-out striker when required. While the right decision to drop Lukaku, rather than quell them, Tuchel has merely fanned the flames ahead of Liverpool.
