Chelsea have not had the start to the season that their fans would have hoped for – they currently find themselves 15th in the Premier League table.

Worse still, they have also been struggling to score goals – so far, the Blues have netted just five goals in the Premier League over the course of five games.

In this piece, we will be examining why Chelsea have had such difficulty in finding the back of the net – we will also look at what they can do to solve their plight.

Are Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics too negative?

So far, while he has not had the best start to life at Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics do not appear to be the problem. His teams have never been low-scoring – while he managed PSG in the 2021/22 season, the Parisian giants netted 90 league goals over the course of the campaign.

He also has no problem with getting the best out of his strikers – he was the manager who brought Harry Kane to the forefront during his tenure at Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite this, his 4-3-3 system does not suit Chelsea’s current squad. His forward players often looked isolated as they struggle to link up with the midfield players behind them.

Much of the responsibility on this end falls at the feet of Enzo Fernandez, who has the talent to be a force at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield – but he is being regularly contained and nullified with each passing game.

It is easy to blame Chelsea’s wingers and ‘strikers’ for their lack of output going forwards – but what can they do if they are not provided with sufficient service?

Of course, their wayward finishing does not help matters. Nicolas Jackson, for example, has accumulated an xG tally of 3.8 (the fifth highest in the division), but he has just two goals to his name so far [via FBref].

Have the new signings at Chelsea been positive additions?

Chelsea’s flagrant spending in the transfer market is not a new revelation – they threw vast swathes of money around under Roman Abramovich and their financial output has only increased under Todd Boehly.

With that being said, there is little use in spending massive amounts of money if it is not used intelligently. Chelsea’s main priority in the summer transfer window should have been to bring in a world class centre-forward – inexplicably, they did not do so.

Jackson is not the top-quality striker that Chelsea needed – moreover, the other centre-forward they signed in the summer, Christopher Nkunku, is out with an injury.