Chelsea's 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest proved exactly why Mauricio Pochettino is faced with a difficult rebuild over the summer. With the quality of players on display at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, there is no excuse for the Blues' lack of clinical edge.
Frank Lampard's men enjoyed 76% of possession, managing 14 shots against Forest's 11. Yet despite their dominance on the ball, it was the visitors who boasted a higher xG, with their 1.30 trumping Chelsea's 1.17.
Raheem Sterling - who scored two goals in the second-half - missed two chances, Joao Felix another two, with a number of half chances coming elsewhere. Forest have, indeed, shored up their defence in recent weeks, but they had conceded 40 away games in the Premier League this season.
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Chelsea's failure to defeat a team at the lower helms of the league table was a perfect evaluation of their season. Before their visit to the capital, Steve Cooper's side had only scored eight away goals in 17 games, but in SW6, they cut through the hosts' defence with little trouble and were, perhaps, unfortunate not to score a third through Renan Lodi.
But the most alarming issue for Todd Boehly and Chelsea is, still, the serious absence of world-class quality in front of goal. Sterling showed glimpses of what supporters raved about when he signed from Manchester City in the summer with two goals - his second certainly a great finish - but the tally of 36 goals in 35 games is disappointing reading.
And following reports that Mauricio Pochettino had agreed to become the club's next manager, the Argentine has been sent a clear message by Lampard on what the group is in desperate need of. "They're small steps forward," Lampard said in regard to Sterling's eighth and ninth goals of the season.
"Raheem is a player that has the credit in the bank, as such, that he's been a regular goal scorer in the Premier League and for his country. To see him score there, that's Raheem, arriving for a cross and then individual brilliance. I'm very happy for him.
"It's what we need at the top end of the pitch. Raheem has done it and he's done it again. You need to win games when you have 76 per cent possession and you need killers at the top end of the pitch and Raheem has proven to be that. At the moment, we do not have enough of that."
The shortage of 'killers' at Stamford Bridge will be on the top of Pochettino's to do list this summer. Christopher Nkunku's imminent arrival will soften that desperation, but it would be a mistake to rely on a forward with no Premier League experience.
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