Chelsea’s striker conundrum has been solved

If Fernando Torres' return to goalscoring form had not been enough then Wednesday's 3-0 win over Schalke surely signifies the end of the slightly overblown hysteria about Chelsea's choice of centre forwards. It always felt like a matter of time before the attacking combinations clicked and the lack of goals from Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o in the opening weeks of the season seemed like a minor issue - especially given the understated penchant for Chelsea's band of playmakers to chip in with vital goals - rather than a truly damaging problem that could derail their trophy hopes.

Now with all three on the scoresheet thanks to Eto'os brace and Ba's late consolidation in the Champions League there are goals to quantify the influence each have over Jose Mourinho's team strategy. The quality of a world-class striker is not there but they offer a surprisingly diverse range of options to lead Chelsea's line.

Eto'o was thrust almost immediately into the starting team upon his switch from Anzhi Makhachkala, illustrating the trust Mourinho placed in his former Inter Milan charge, and reinforcing the feeling that it was the Cameroonian whom the Portuguese felt best suited to playing in advance of the surfeit of attacking midfielders. The plethora of playmakers at his disposal can be somewhat deceptive, and the popular idea that the likes of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar only need a poacher to support them doesn't quite stick. That solution always felt like it could make Chelsea one-dimensional and indeed Mourinho's mantra upon taking over for his second reign has been squarely upon attacking from different angles.

Eto'o's debut against Everton was particularly instructive. His movement towards the channels was obvious, his willingness to drop deep and link up play patently clear. It reflected Torres' earlier games, like against Hull City, when the Spaniard frequently dropped between the lines to open up space for Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Ramires to charge into, in behind Hull's defence. Mourinho wants a striker who can play as a focal point, but also work the width of the pitch to bring the attacking midfielders into play. It explains the summer-long pursuit of Wayne Rooney, a striker whose movement between the midfield and attack was the key feature of Alex Ferguson's final two years at Manchester United.

In that sense, Demba Ba was always at the risk of marginalisation. He's strong, powerful and excellent at holding up play, and likes working the edge of opposition defence lines, as the ridiculous amount of offsides he racked up against Aston Villa (five) illustrates. Yet he's simply not involved in play enough and his second Premier League start, against Norwich, featured lots of basic target-man play.

But even then that proved crucial in creating Oscar's opening goal, as the Brazilian fired home having collected possession from Ba's chest control off a David Luiz long pass. The third goal against Schalke -- Ba's first in the Champions League -- is a perfect illustration: he brings down a Petr Cech goalkick, then darts in behind the back four to latch onto Lampard's chipped pass.

However, that was only as a substitute, revealing Ba's minimal involvement in the campaign so far. Not to understate his ability, but he feels like a useful Plan B. Instead, Mourinho's first choice striker has swung between Torres and Eto'o, the former having won favour with a duet of impressive performances against Tottenham, Schalke and Manchester City.

The suspicion with Eto'o, meanwhile, was always that he knew what he had to do but was missing that crucial bit of match sharpness. Mourinho hinted as much post-match. When you play without big motivations you train without big motivations, you lose condition," Mourinho said after Chelsea's 3-0 win over Schalke. Yet as the rehabilitation of Eto'o gathers pace so does his prominence. The brace understandably captured the headlines but his movement caught the eye, and his manful running of the spaces across Schalke's back four was pivotal -- Andre Schurrle, in particular, benefitted, able to drive into the room created by Eto'o. The striker has shown a specific tendency to work the left side and against Cardiff City he frequently moved across to the left to collect passes from left-back Ryan Bertrand, keeping Chelsea's width on that side which in turn allowed Eden Hazard to cut inside towards goal.

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