Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was thrown into the deep end for Chelsea this Tuesday night as he made his debut for the Blues following his £10million summer transfer from Barcelona.
The former Arsenal striker was recently the victim of a home invasion in which he suffered a broken jaw when intruders allegedly stormed his house with weapons, handcuffed him and his wife and made off with jewellery.
As a result, Aubameyang wore a mask to protect his jaw as he led Chelsea's line in Croatia for the Champions League tie with Dinamo Zagreb in the hope of providing an attacking threat in the final third - something the Blues have lacked so far this season.
On paper, Thomas Tuchel had Kai Havertz flanking Aubameyang on his right and Raheem Sterling on his left with Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic behind him and Ben Chilwell and Reece James overlapping the wingers on the left and right respectively.
But as the game got underway it became clear that Havertz was keen on playing a more central role, meaning he was stood very close to Aubameyang - perhaps out of habit based on the position he's been playing most recently.
This instantly meant the Dinamo box became quite congested whenever Chelsea broke forward, which played into the hands of the home team who were happy to sit back and try to catch the Blues on the break.
Aubameyang's first touch came in the sixth minute when he played two classy one-twos with Sterling.
The first saw him flick the ball past two defenders to find the Englishman, who spotted Aubameyang running into the space he created and played a pass back to him.
But instead of shooting a hesitant Aubameyang played the ball back to Sterling whose shot was blocked.
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Aubameyang's next contribution came on nine minutes when Havertz collected the ball out left, reached the byline and fired a cross into the area. The Gabon international had made his way into the box but failed to attack the near post and was therefore unable to latch onto the ball, with it flashing past the forward.
Aubameyang attempted to forge an opportunity for himself on 10 minutes when he collected the ball out right and sprinted down the wing with it. He was quickly closed down and again hesitated by failing to take a shot and instead trying to find Sterling.
On the 20-minute mark, Aubameyang had the opportunity to attack a header after the ball was floated into the box but the area was crowded and although the striker made contact he was unable to get any power on his effort.
Dinamo, who had already taken the lead by this point, continued to keep the Blues at bay for the next 20 minutes with Aubameyang finding chances increasingly more difficult to come by.
The striker eventually got another touch of the ball on 40 minutes when he received the ball in the box with his back to goal, but Dino Peric stood his ground and showed Aubameyang no way past.
His battle with Peric wasn't done there though as just moments later Havertz drove through the centre of the park, and laid the ball out left for Sterling who flicked a cross into Aubameyang.
Once again, the striker failed to attack the ball aggressively - perhaps due to his jaw injury - and despite winning the header, saw it deflect off the Dinamo centre-back.
Aubameyang's final contribution of the first half came on 45 minutes when Chilwell found the striker in the area but he failed to take the ball down effectively, with it bouncing away and the chance coming to nothing.
It's likely Tuchel had a few choice things to say to his Chelsea players at the half-time break given the scoreline, and the Blues returned a better side when the match resumed.
On 47 minutes, Aubameyang was handed his best chance to score when Havertz fizzed a ball into the area.
Aubameyang managed to get a touch but it wasn't enough to steer the ball goalward, with the ball once again flashing past.
Three minutes later and Aubameyang hit the back of the net after Kovacic picked out Chilwell with a long pass and the left-back slid the ball into the feet of the Gabon international.
Aubameyang was able to tap the chance home, but Chilwell was in an offside position when the ball was played forward and the goal was ruled out.
On 58 minutes, Aubameyang's number was called by Tuchel, with the striker making way for Armando Broja.
During his hour on the pitch, Aubameyang showed he certainly has enough about him to find his feet in Chelsea blue, but he perhaps made his debut a little too soon after what has been a traumatic week for the forward.
