Thomas Tuchel said he had to be creative with his team selection against Newcastle United. With four central defenders making up a back four, it was certainly little different.
The German coach was acknowledging the severe shortage of right backs he has suffered with the absence of Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of the game against the Toon Army.
Trevoh Chalobah deputised on the right, as Andreas Christensen did against Crystal Palace when the Blues returned from Abu Dhabi.
The 22-year-old show some good ability on the flank, allowing the ball to run across him to beat Matt Targett early in the game, but also found his struggles there too as he was fortunate not to give away a penalty against Jacob Murphy - much to Eddie Howe's anger.
However, that Malang Sarr was on the left should not be ignored. Ben Chilwell remains out for the season, while Marcos Alonso spent his 90 minutes on the bench, with his moments warming up spent being ridiculed by the Newcastle fans at Stamford Bridge for his previous affiliation to Sunderland.
"The manager had to have some balls to make these decisions," joked Tuchel following Chelsea's win.
"As you are aware, we started with a 4-1-4-1. Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta) was out, Reece James was out and Callum (Hudson-Odoi) played there [at wing-back] and was out. Pulisic came from some days off feeling sick so we struggled to find a right wing-back. Marcos struggled through his corona times and we were not sure if he could make it so we started in a 4-1-4-1.
"In the second half, it was a back five. Malang (Sarr) is good in defending but we took the risk on the left side to be more offensive. We defended against their strikers in more of a three against three. Jorginho was the man in front of the back three to control counter attacks and long balls. Hakim did it against Tottenham who had a back five and it was a bit of the same situation as against Tottenham in one of the four games we played recently.
"It is not their best position but it is a bit easier for a player like Christian to do it when they come into the match. We took the risk to increase the offensive threat with some runs. In the end, we have a run with Kai and Christian Pulisic to arrive in the box. In the end, I am happy because Malang was important for defending set-pieces and it was a bit of a gamble."
However, Tuchel was not always happy with 23-year-old for every second he was on the pitch.
"Malang, Malang!" came the call from the Blues boss before pushing his chest out and thumping it, after some unconvincing play from the former Porto loanee in the second period.
"Where is your head right now? What are you doing?" came next as he waved his arms around and feigned a header, trying to provoke a reaction in his charge.
Sarr frustrated his manager once again shortly afterwards and the German coach looked to make an immediate sub before becoming lost in conversation with his team, to figure out the best method to make the adjustment. The Frenchman was eventually replaced by Christian Pulisic in the 77th minute.
It's not to say it was a hapless performance from Sarr, who was applauded as Chelsea played their way out of danger on occasion in the first half, but it reinforced that he does not always bring certain conviction in his play.
While Alonso's reintroduction seems to be being managed after his Covid-19 symptoms, Pulisic's introduction served to remind that the Spaniard is not always looked upon as the answer. He was opted against as the starting full back against Palace in February, and saw James start ahead of him at wing-back against Brighton in December.
Much like the right side has missed James and his all-round ability that was on show in his brief foray in the team before he picked up another knock, Chelsea have missed Ben Chilwell. The 25-year-old delivers a certain level and confidence in his forward production.
After being slowly coaxed into the team, the former Leicester star has only featured in 12 games for the Blues this term with Alonso picking up most of the slack. He will continue to do so for the rest of the season, and Sarr will prove his value as a rotation option.
However, they still have some work to do in order to make anyone associated with the Blues forget about Chilwell's absence.
