Nkunku position decision an instant flop – Chelsea manager can’t repeat his mistakes

Christopher Nkunku started just his second Chelsea game today, and Mauricio Pochettino decided to use him as a striker.

We can see why – it allowed Nkunku to play while keeping star man Cole Palmer in the team, without a major formation change. It didn’t work at all. Nkunku was easily marked out of the game by Wolves defenders, and he contributed less in 70 minutes than he did in 45 minutes against Liverpool in midweek.

When Nicolas Jackson came on, his main contribution was heading an easy chance wide of the post, reminding everyone he was never going to be the solution we had convinced ourselves he would be. But even if his role is just to run hard and draw defenders away from Nkunku, that seems like a sacrifice which is worth it.

Raheem Sterling should be the one to drop out, with Jackson, Palmer and Nkunku making up the front 3. How will that work? Well, that’s up to the manager. He’s had 6 months to think about it already.