It was the problem Chelsea thought they had solved - that their goalscoring woes were behind them. Wishful thinking anyway, after spending £98million on one of the best forwards in the world.
This was the season that things had to be ticking up top for the Blues, if they wanted to be genuine title challengers. Firing a blank against rivals Manchester City in their 1-0 loss on Saturday just summed up their ongoing inconsistency in producing the goods when it matters this season.
Indeed, just one shot on target against a team who were ten points above you isn't nearly good enough - and neither is five goals from Romelu Lukaku, the man who was supposed to single-handedly deliver the Premier League crown to Stamford Bridge, after re-joining from Inter Milan.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has seen his attacking force become blunt in the last month
His side have lost their impetus up front with Romelu Lukaku (L) and Timo Werner (R) cutting isolated figures in their defeat to Manchester City
Chelsea have 45 goals in the league this term - not bad going in the grand scheme of things but they are still some way off the top bracket led by City and Liverpool, who have nine and ten more strikes than them respectively.
That is the standard if you want to be in the title conversation, and Chelsea haven't been at it. Of course, things haven't always been in their control - unlucky with injuries, Covid and Lukaku's attitude, it just hasn't gone their way.
With a must-win game coming up against Brighton tonight, Sportsmail assesses the issues Thomas Tuchel is facing up front and what he can do to inspire better performances from his forwards for the remainder of the campaign.
Unhappy Lukaku doesn't fit Tuchel's system
The Belgian was a problem before he opened his mouth about being unsettled at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel did well to quash that dilemma and nip things in the bud by getting an apology out of him for his unauthorised interview with Italian media, but it hasn't helped bring out the old Lukaku.
The thing is - we knew that Lukaku didn't suit Tuchel's style of play before he said it himself. So it's nothing surprising, but the player himself coming out with it only makes his coach's role more challenging.
'Tuchel and I are trying to find a tactical system where we can 'find' each other - a way to help the team because the situation [PL table] is a bit complicated,' he said in his bombshell interview.
Lukaku isn't a good fit for Tuchel's system and prefers to play in a counter-attacking team
'He made his choice - I keep working, at a certain point I'll speak with Tuchel and we will see the situation.'
Lukaku thrived under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan last year - in a system that helped him finish on 30 goals. That is the player Chelsea thought they were getting, but he hasn't been able to get into his groove under Tuchel's guidance.
Like Conte, the German also plays a back three but focuses more on pressing rather than counter attacking, a style in which the former Man United star thrived in.
Chelsea didn't have much of a sniff against the Premier League leaders on the weekend, but during one particular counter attack Lukaku found himself through on goal after being played in by Mateo Kovacic, but fluffed the chance when 1v1 with City keeper Ederson.
Lukaku has had much publicised tension with the German and criticised his tactics in the press
He missed a gilt-edged opportunity when put clean through on goal in the loss to City
To Lukaku's credit, he has two goals in the three games he has played since he caused controversy with his interview - which has coincided with a poor run of form that has seen them pick up seven points from their last six games.
He has played fewer minutes than some of his team-mates after being dropped over his outburst - but has managed just four shots - three on target - in each of those three games.
His partnership with Lautaro Martinez at Inter was a big factor in his success, but he hasn't been able to replicate that with Timo Werner. The pair were largely stifled at the Etihad on the weekend and failed to score in the Carabao Cup against Spurs.
In the previous leg, he was paired with Kai Havertz - who found the back of the net - while a handful of chances went begging for Lukaku.
Forwards stifled by Covid, injuries and over-rotation
Chelsea can count themselves unfortunate to have grappled with a serious Covid crisis and mounting injury concerns this season. That's affected every team of course, but the Blues look to have been hit particularly badly - and their attack has been hurt in the process.
Andreas Christensen was the latest player to test positive for Covid and missed the City game as a result - the virus surging its way through his squad in recent weeks and forcing Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to isolate at different points.
Meanwhile, a terrible injury crisis has seen him lose both of his first choice wing-backs on either flank in Reece James and Ben Chilwell - forcing him to withdraw Kenedy from his loan at Flamengo, while Emerson Palmieri could also be called back from his temporary switch at Lyon.
Injuries to Ben Chilwell (L) and Reece James have hampered Chelsea's progress in attack
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