Thomas Tuchel has addressed the poor performance of Romelu Lukaku’s latest game after breaking a Premier League record and not in a positive way.
After breaking a Premier League record for the lowest number of touches in a Premier League game since records began in 2003/04, Thomas Tuchel was questioned on the matter.
The most worrying part of this answer for Chelsea fans would be that Tuchel doesn’t seem to have the answer or solution to solve this issue. In an interview after the game, he stated: “It’s not about the system.” which shows he believes it’s a problem coming from the player rather than the way the team is setup. After Lukaku publicly criticised the style of play Tuchel wants from his team, performances like this certainly aren’t going to help his cause.
Tuchel on Lukaku not touching the ball much: "What can I do? I don't know. Well, we have to deal with it. The data is out there and speaks the language that he wasn't in our game. With strikers, it can be like this when they lack confidence or depending on the game." #CFC #UCL
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) February 21, 2022
After parting with so much money for the transfer of Lukaku and given his goalscoring record at Inter Milan, it would be fair to expect instant results on his return to Stamford Bridge. It’s been a difficult time for him so far, only managing five league goals this season.
“Well, we have to deal with it” Tuchel added. However the Chelsea manager feels best to deal with it remains to be seen but with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz waiting for their opportunities, Tuchel may want to reshuffle the pack in their upcoming fixture with Lille on Tuesday night.
Neither of the German duo have cemented their place in the starting eleven at Chelsea but Lukaku hasn’t done himself any favours in keeping his shirt with that performance at the weekend.