Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says the club will ‘protect’ Romelu Lukaku amid his current struggles and believes the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell has affected the striker.
The Belgian star, who returned to Chelsea in the summer in a club-record £97.5m deal from Inter Milan, has only netted in two of his last 14 Premier League games and was anonymous at the weekend.
Lukaku had just seven touches of the ball against Crystal Palace on Saturday, one of which was from kick-off, but Tuchel has defended him and feels his injury-hit team are struggling to create enough chances for him.
Asked about the cause of Lukaku’s slump, whether it is the absence of Chelsea’s wingbacks or his own need to adjust to the team style of play, Tuchel replied: ‘Maybe both things.
‘Of course, every style changes with long-term injuries of key players. We played many games and in the majority of the games with a back three with wingbacks and two of the key wingbacks are Reece and Chilly – who got injured at their peak level.
‘They had a huge impact on our game offensively and defensively. Regarding Romelu, of course also offensively [they helped him] with their runs, with their speed, with their penetration and with their deliveries.
‘So of course this changes things. We are not the only team where players have this huge impact and in the formation we play the wingbacks are crucial, and a crucial position to influence the game.
‘But still, we can also play and win games without any player, this is our job and this is what we want to do. This is what we try honestly when we have injuries and when we have Corona cases. So it’s on us, it’s on me, to adapt, to find solutions and Romelu will always be part of the solution.’
On Lukaku’s seven touches against Palace, he added: ‘What can I do? I don’t know. Well, now we have to deal with it. The data is out there and the data speaks a certain language so he was not involved in our game.
‘It’s sometimes like this with strikers, if they struggle a bit with self-confidence, if they struggle a little bit to find the space and get involved against a good defensive side.
‘It can be like this and of course it’s not what we want, and not want Romelu wants, but it’s also not the time to laugh about him and make jokes about him. He is in the spotlight, of course, and we will protect him because he’s our player.’
Tuchel continued: ‘There’s even a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea, so it’s not the easiest place in the world for strikers. Obviously I don’t know exactly why it’s like this, but it’s like that.
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‘In my opinion, Chelsea is a team that is also considered as a strong defensive team, that is a physical team, and this has a certain attitude and grip in playing competitive football. We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of defending.
‘We want to be a physical, hard-working group that is not shy to make it a physical game and not only a skilful game and that maybe plays a part [in Lukaku’s struggles].
‘We have many games where we created many chances, many deliveries, and struggled a bit in the conversion. Now it’s a time when we struggle to create too many big chances for our strikers, I think this is maybe also a normal period in a long season.
‘So we are on the subject and we are well aware. Like always in football it’s not always one reason to solve a problem, it’s a very complex sport and we try to keep on playing with faith in what we do, and belief in the team effort, and from there we go.’
