"It’s been the same problem" - Chelsea legend claims the club have the same problem on the pitch for three years

Frank Laboeuf on Chelsea
Frank Laboeuf on Chelsea's lack of goalscoring chances

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has lamented the Blues' inability to consistently create enough goalscoring chances for their forwards.

Graham Potter's side recently drew 1-1 against Manchester United at home in the Premier League on October 22. They were completely dominated by the Red Devils, who had 13 attempts on goal to Chelsea's six.

The hosts lacked an attacking threat in the game, which has often been the case in recent times. They brought in Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for a club-record fee of £97.5 million last summer. However, he scored just 15 goals in 44 matches and is now back at Inter on loan.

The west London side signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona in the summer and he has netted just thrice in 10 appearances.

Leboeuf believes that these strikers have struggled at Chelsea due to a lack of service. He told Fair Betting Sites:

"It’s been the same problem for the last three years, providing a supply line to allow someone to consistently score goals.
"They’ve tried Lukaku and it didn’t work out and now it’s Aubameyang but the problem is that they don’t consistently serve them because the football they play is more horizontal passes and keeping possession rather than trying to score goals quickly like Liverpool do for example."

He continued:

"You would think with Reece James and Ben Chillwell they would swing in a lot of dangerous crosses, although they’ve both suffered injuries and that hasn’t helped, but it seems that Aubameyang is suffering in the same way that Lukaku did with a lack of service."

Leboeuf claimed that Chelsea's playing style has improved under Potter but they still don't take enough risks to hurt their opponents. He said:

"Even though their build up play is getting better under Potter because they are more vertical than they were under Tuchel, they still seem more interested in keeping the ball rather than hurting the opposition. That seems to be the mind frame of the players, not losing the ball rather than risking an incisive pass."

He added:

"A lot of backwards and sideways passes with no risk and the stats will show a high pass completion ratio but I want to see more progressive passing."

Laboefu believes that the Blues should trust their intuition more and try to create more at times:

"So, that’s my main concern for Chelsea is that I don’t see many players who will risk missing a pass and playing more vertically. Everything is too calculated, and football is a game of intuition in order to make something special happen in order to surprise the defence.”

Chelsea need to address their lack of goals this season

While Chelsea sit in a comfortable position in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, a lack of goals is likely to still be a concern for them.

The Blues are currently fifth in the English top-flight and have scored 16 goals in 11 matches. They have the joint third-lowest goal tally among the current top 11 teams alongside Manchester United.

Chelsea face some stern tests in all competitions in the coming weeks and will need to create more chances for their strikers. Graham Potter's side will face Brighton & Hove Albion away on October 29 and Arsenal at home on November 6, both in the Premier League.

They will then take on Manchester City away from home in the third round of the Carabao Cup on November 9.

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