Tuchel defends his players
Chelsea were not at their best against Crystal Palace. Much in the same way they weren't against Palmeiras during the Club World Cup final. Or in the semi-final against Al Hilal. Or in a multitude of the matches played by the Blues over the past two months.
In December, injuries and positive Covid cases were understandably blamed. Meanwhile, insipid performances in January were put down to squad fatigue, which was accepted given what had come before.
February was meant to be different, however. Not only had the majority of Chelsea's first-team squad enjoyed a week off due to the strangely-timed international break, but they had then flown out to Abu Dhabi for six days of warm-weather training in addition to competing for the honour of world champions.
And ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park, the Blues had enjoyed a full week of training at Cobham, so there was an expectation Chelsea would finally rediscover their spark.
It didn't happen. Christian Pulisic and N'Golo Kante had first-half chances while Antonio Rudiger came close with a fierce 25-yard drive, but that was Chelsea's lot in the opening period.
Things didn't improve after the break either until Thomas Tuchel rolled the dice and introduced Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcos Alonso from the bench with 18 minutes of the game remaining.
Kovacic's first act was to slide a pass beyond the Palace defend to Romelu Lukaku, whose powerful shot was only pushed into the path of Hakim Ziyech. VAR saved the Eagles on that occasion – Lukaku was caught offside in the build – but there was nothing to protect the Eagles in the 89th minute.
Alonso was given room to deliver a cross to the back post and there was Ziyech, who guided a volley beyond Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland. It wasn't quite a smash-and-grab victory but few could've grumbled had Chelsea only come away with a point.
After the win, Tuchel was asked if he was concerned about his side's display. The German launched into a staunch defence of his players and insisted the build-up to the contest was far from ideal.
He said: "How a week like this works, we come from a 30-degree temperature difference, we have six players with a cold from the AC in the plane, we have jet lag from Abu Dhabi, we have no player who slept well in Abu Dhabi because of temperature and the time difference. So it's the same here.
"If you think we have a normal week to prepare I can just tell you it's not like this. We are trying to survive at the moment and you can see.
"There is a lot of pressure going on if you go to a world cup and want to win it for Chelsea. The players put a lot of pressure on themselves and then we haven't played Premier League for four weeks. It's a huge and strange mix of a lot of reasons why, personally, I did not over-expect today performance-wise."
Tuchel went on to add his players looked "drained and exhausted" against Palace. It was hard to argue with that assessment. However, with the games coming thick and fast in the weeks ahead, there will be no respite. The Chelsea head coach must find a solution.
Lukaku conundrum continues
Having struck in back-to-back games at the Club World Cup, there was hope Romelu Lukaku could take that form into the Premier League. Sadly for the Belgian striker, the opposite occurred.
He touched the ball just seven times across 90 minutes at Selhurst Park – and one of those was the kick-off. Rather damningly, since Opta started collecting data in 2003, no player to have completed a full Premier League game has registered fewer touches than Lukaku against Crystal Palace.
The 28-year-old is partly to blame for that; he could certainly have made ensured he was more involved. Yet contrary to social media opinion, Lukaku was not simply a statuesque presence against Palace.
There were multiple occasions throughout the game that the striker spun off the shoulder of an Eagles defender when a Chelsea player had unchallenged possession. Yet not once did a pass over the top come despite Lukaku specifically demanding one from Antonio Rudiger in the opening period.
The only occasion a pass was slipped through to Lukaku was with 16 minutes to play. It came from Kovacic and led to Belgium's all-time top scorer forcing a good stop from Butland before Ziyech tapped home the rebound. Of course, the goal was then ruled out by VAR.
"I'm not so sure if I have a good answer," Tuchel responded, a little bluntly when asked about Lukaku's ineffectiveness after the game.
"I don't know what it [the lack of touches] says. It says he was obviously not involved and could not make a point today. I am not sure if it says so much about us in general."
Tuchel has often called Lukaku the "reference" within Chelsea's attack, something which may explain why the number nine rarely moves away from centre-backs into the channels. And unless something changes rather dramatically, it's difficult to envisage a sharp upturn in performance from the former Inter Milan star.
Ziyech cements his spot
With Lukaku blunted, Kai Havertz on the periphery, and Christian Pulisic extremely quiet, it was once again left to Ziyech to pick up the slack in the final third. Thankfully for Chelsea, the 28-year-old has proved himself up to the task.
It wasn't just Ziyech's goal that stood out, it was his overall performance. While others looked sluggish, he appeared spritely. There were no cobwebs for the Moroccan to shake off.
Chelsea have leaned more and more on Ziyech over the past month. He has scored in his previous three Premier League games and they have been big goals: the openers against Brighton and Tottenham and the winner at Palace.
It was a difficult game with only a small number of chances,” Ziyech told BBC Sport after the win at Selhurst Park. “Then the best feeling to score in the last minute.
“It can be difficult for players to adapt to something new but that is what we have to do as players and be as professional as we can. In the end, it is all about results."
That final sentence feels particularly pertinent when it comes to Ziyech. During the first 18 months of his Chelsea career, there was a lack of consistent and genuine output from the man signed from Ajax for £33million.
Few doubted his natural talent nor his ambition to succeed, yet doubts were raised as to whether he was a natural fit in Tuchel's side and questions were asked as to whether there would be a summer transfer on the cards.
That feels unlikely at this stage. Ziyech has not only cemented his spot in the starting XI but also his place at Chelsea. He has stood up when others haven't, scored big goals in turgid performances, and proved he belongs at Stamford Bridge.
