It's been a really difficult campaign for Chelsea on and off the pitch as we approach the final fixture of the Premier League season. The Blues have now secured a third-place finish in the top-flight, but they are some 18 points adrift of Liverpool in second.
The gap to the Premier League's top two, in Liverpool and Manchester City, is too much. Thomas Tuchel knows it, but he hasn't been able to do too much about it this season.
Chelsea started the campaign in tremendous style and were many people's perhaps outside shot to be crowned champions come May. Saturday, December 4 could be looked back at the turning point in the Blues' Premier League season.
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Tuchel's side made the short trip to the London Stadium to take on city rivals West Ham United. Chelsea were top of the Premier League table going into the match, but Arthur Masuaku's late strike ensured the Hammers edged a five-goal thriller in front of their own supporters.
That was at the start of December and what followed for the remainder of the month derailed their Premier League season. While not being beaten in the final month of 2021, Chelsea were held against Everton, Wolves and Brighton in the space of 13 days, ensuring the relentless Liverpool and Man City pulled away from them and made the Premier League title a dream rather than a reality.
The second half of the season has been dominated by the off-the-pitch chaos at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's players have certainly felt the impact, with the Blues somewhat stumbling to a top four place in the end.
Many supporters are seemingly excited for the 2021/22 season to finally conclude and the new Todd Boehly era for the club to begin - whenever a deal is announced. There's now just one match of the season to go for Chelsea. At home against already-relegated Watford.
With this being said, football.london takes a look at Chelsea's attacking stats from individual players going into the final day. All of the stats below are from the 2021/22 Premier League season...
Chelsea's top scorers
1. Mason Mount - Goals: 11 / Assists: 10 / Shots on Target: 29 / Expected Goals (XG): 8.9 / Appearances: 31
2. Romelu Lukaku - Goals: 8 / Assists: 1 / Shots on Target: 16 / Expected Goals (XG): 8.31 / Appearances: 26
3. Kai Havertz - Goals: 7 / Assists: 4 / Shots on Target: 22 / Expected Goals (XG): 6.9 / Appearances: 28
4. Jorginho - Goals: 6 / Assists: 2 / Shots on Target: 9 / Expected Goals (XG): 6.01 / Appearances: 29
4. Christian Pulisic - Goals: 6 / Assists: 2 / Shots on Target: 11 / Expected Goals (XG): 5.37 / Appearances: 22
What this means for Chelsea
The above stats are not good enough for a team that want to challenge for the title. Not every title-challenger has to have a 20-goal-a-season striker, they just need to ensure the goals are shared around the squad, but this hasn't even been the case at Chelsea, really.
Mount - bar a four-goal swing in Lukaku's favour on the final day - looks set to be the Blues' top scorer with 11 goals in the Premier League this season. It might seem unfair to compare that to the stats of the Liverpool and Manchester City players, but that is ultimately Chelsea's aim - to get closer to the top two.
Three Liverpool players - Mohamed Salah (22), Sadio Mane (15) and Diogo Jota (15) - have more goals than Mount. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne (15), Raheem Sterling (13) and Riyad Mahrez (11) have equalled or bettered Mount's tally.
It's stating the obvious and Chelsea supporters have made their feelings perfectly clear on social media, but the club need to improve in the attacking third. Too many matches this season, particularly in the second half of the campaign, have been lacklustre in front of goal.
