Coach Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea has admitted that he does not know how to make Romelu Lukaku have more touches during football games.
Recall that on February 19, 2022, Romelu Lukaku created a horrible Premier League record of making just seven touches during a league game between Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Though Lukaku played for 90 minutes, Chelsea had to depend on a strike from Hakim Ziyech to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 away from home.
After the match, football pundits and enthusiasts took to different media platforms, both traditional and social media to mock Romelu Lukaku’s inability to make more than seven touches during the Premier League game.
Some were even of the opinion that the ball-boy at the Crystal Palace’s stadium made more contact with the ball than Lukaku who cost Chelsea a club-record transfer fee of £97.5 million last summer.
Ahead of Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League match against Lille scheduled to kick off later today, February 22, at 21:00, reporters dragged coach Thomas Tuchel into Lukaku’s failure to get more involved in the game against Crystal Palace.
A reporter in the pre-match press conference asked coach Tuchel how he could help Lukaku to have more contacts with the ball during games, the German coach said: “What can I do? I don’t know. We have to deal with it.
“The data is out there and the data speaks a certain language. He was not involved in our game, it’s sometimes like this with strikers. If they struggle a bit with self-confidence, to find the space, and to get involved against a good defensive side, it can be like this.
“It’s not what we want or Romelu wants, but it’s also not the time to laugh about him and make jokes about him. He’s in the spotlight but we will protect him.”
🗣 "We will protect him, because he is our player."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 21, 2022
Thomas Tuchel says it is "not the time to laugh" about Romelu Lukaku after the Chelsea striker only managed seven touches against Crystal Palace. pic.twitter.com/UDua41bLDE
What is the contract between Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea?
On August 12, 2021, Chelsea decided to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club after seven years of leaving the club when he could not establish himself at the London-based side. Chelsea paid Inter Milan a whopping £97.5 million to bring the 28-year-old Belgian striker to the club.
The Premier League side gave Lukaku a five-year deal which reportedly earns him £16,900,000 every year. This means that Lukaku earns nothing less than £325,000-per-week at Chelsea.
What is Lukaku’s stats since he returned to Chelsea in 2021?
Since Lukaku returned to Chelsea in 2021, the Belgian striker has played 28 games in all competitions in which he scored 10 goals and provided 2 assists.
In the Premier League alone, Lukaku has managed to score five goals and provide an assist in 17 appearances. It is in the Champions League that he has enjoyed a better form. He has scored two goals and provided an assist in four Champions League appearances for Chelsea.
Coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Chelsea have a long history of strikers struggling at the club
The manager of Chelsea, coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted that the club has a long history of strikers struggling at the club.
While trying to explain why it has been so, coach Tuchel noted that Chelsea’s brand of football which includes a lot of physicality, defensiveness, and skillful style of football could be the reason why most strikers struggle at the club.
“There is a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea so it may not be the easiest place in the world for strikers. I don’t know why it’s like this,” Tuchel said.
“In my opinion, Chelsea are a team considered a strong defensive team, a physical team, that has a certain attitude when in competitive football.
“We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of defending. We want to be a physical, hard-working group that wants to play a physical game and a skillful game. That maybe plays a part.
“We are on the subject and are well aware, but like always in football, it’s not just one reason to sort a problem. It’s a complex sport and we will try to continue to play with faith, with a team effort.”
Below are the strikers that have struggled at Chelsea
- Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea in 2006 and left the club in 2009 after scoring just nine goals in 48 games.
- Fernando Torres joined Chelsea in 2011 and left the club in 2015 after scoring 20 goals in 110 games.
- Radamel Falcao joined Chelsea in 2015 and left the club in 2016 after scoring just a goal in 10 games.
- Alvaro Morata joined Chelsea in 2017 and left the club in 2020 after scoring 16 goals in 47 games.
- Gonzalo Higuain joined Chelsea in 2019 and left the club that same year after scoring five goals in 14 games.
Coach Thomas Tuchel knows a lot about Lille
Chelsea will start their round of 16 campaign in this season’s UEFA Champions League by taking on the reigning French Ligue 1 champions Lille later today, February 22, 2022.
The first leg of the round will take place at Stamford Bridge while the second leg which has been scheduled to take place on March 16 will be held in France.
Ahead of the clash, coach Thomas Tuchel who has faced Lille as the coach of PSG in almost two seasons said Lille are not as strong as they used to be after the departure of their former coach, Christophe Galtier, and a couple of first-team players.
“They had a fantastic coach and a group of players [last season]. They were very competitive when I was in Paris,” coach Tuchel said.
“They were a strong group, very emotional group, never easy to play in their stadium. The quality of the coach was exceptional and you could tell they had the quality to fight high up the table.
“But they lost players and the coach in the summer so there has been a huge change. When the change is so big it may take time for things to settle in.
“They lost another key player in winter with Jonathan Ikone but still we all know how physical French football is, how physical the attacking players are, how brave they are in one-on-ones, very disciplined against the ball, and they have the chance to play this game as underdogs.
“It’s like always: we respect the game, respect the opponent, and prepare the team as we always do.”
🗣 "We will protect him, because he is our player."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 21, 2022
Thomas Tuchel says it is "not the time to laugh" about Romelu Lukaku after the Chelsea striker only managed seven touches against Crystal Palace. pic.twitter.com/UDua41bLDE
