For very different reasons, the last two months have not been particularly easy for Chelsea forwards Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham.
Werner's situation was rather simple: he wasn't scoring goals. The German was signed by Chelsea for £49.5million last summer from RB Leipzig and it was hoped he could fire the Blues to success this term. It hasn't quite worked.
Werner has 20 goal contributions (11 goals and nine assists) this season but he has struck only three times in all competitions since November 8. His confidence in the penalty area has been hit hard yet he has still made telling contributions in matches.
The most recent of which, prior to the game at the London Stadium, came last weekend in the FA Cup semi-final against Man City. It was Werner who sprung clear against Pep Guardiola's side to tee up Hakim Ziyech for a simple finish at Wembley.
What has taken place with Abraham is a little more confusing. The academy graduate is Chelsea's top scorer this season; he's found the net 12 times in all competitions.
Yet ahead of the clash against West Ham, he hadn't played for the Blues for more than 60 days.
Part of the reason for that is Abraham sustained an ankle injury in the 2-0 win against Newcastle United in February. He missed seven games as a result.
But during the international break, the 23-year-old returned to full fitness. But he was left out of the match-day squad entirely by Tuchel for the defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
And then the FA Cup semi-final. And against Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek.
"Right now he has struggled for several reasons," Thomas Tuchel said ahead of the game against the Hammers.
"One of the reasons is my decisions, of course. There are several other reasons, he was a bit unlucky, he was injured, we talked about it.
"He struggled a bit to accept the situation and he struggled a bit finding the solution to the situation, to be a bit stuck between his demands to himself, and his expectations about his role, then the role he was suddenly in.
"But now I have the feeling that he has found the way to cope with it, which I am very happy about, he produced very good training sessions now in a row."
Abraham clearly had done something right ahead of Chelsea's trip to the London Stadium as he was included among the substitutes for the game. Werner, meanwhile, was handed something of a surprise start as the focal point of the Blues attack.
And shortly before half time, it was the German who broke the deadlock. A nice passing move from Tuchel's side resulted in the ball being played out to Ben Chilwell and the England international's cross was turned in from close range by the German international.
Werner immediately pointed to the bench. "Callum and Tammy said I would score today and when I score I should point to them, so when I scored I pointed to them," he told Sky Sports after the game.
Abraham's reaction to the goal was rather more zealous. There was no hint of disappointment that a direct rival for the number nine role had got in the scoresheet. Instead, he was up on his feet and punched the air in celebration.
Werner and Chelsea had chances to add to their lead in the second half. Abraham was even afforded a few minutes late on having replaced the German star – it was his first appearance since February 20 and he almost got on the scoresheet with a late header in the dying moments.
Abraham's happiness for his teammate was reflected on social media after the game. In response to a post by Werner on Instagram, the academy graduate wrote: "Told you bro."
