It has been a long wait, but soon Romelu Lukaku will directly earn Chelsea a Premier League point or three. The club’s €100m-plus signing has scored an impressive number of goals - three in four league games - since his return to the club, but, as yet, none of them have been the single match-winner or match-saver in Chelsea’s domestic campaign.
That’s partly because Lukaku is one goalscorer among an unusually broad set. He was bought to solve an issue - the absence of a prolific, world-class leader of the forward line - and is fulfilling it in two ways: with his own goals and by opening up space for others to hone their sometimes rusty marksmanship.
Chelsea are top of the table, outscored only by Manchester United and with a defensive record second to nobody. Those defenders have also been pulling their weight at the other end of the pitch. Five of the club’s 12 league goals so far have come from defenders, and another two from deep-lying midfielders, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante, who was helped onto the scoresheet in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur by a significant deflection.
All of which encourages Tuchel to believe he has a squad that is not only deep, but blessed with diverse strengths. He will examine more of that depth and flexibility in the League Cup, when Chelsea take on Aston Villa in the third round.
Tuchel will rest some senior players, giving a grateful pat on the back to the likes of Thiago Silva, whose header put Chelsea ahead at Tottenham. A shot from close to the edge of the Spurs penalty area by fellow central defender, Antonio Rudiger, completed the scoring.
Rudiger is only an occasional scorer, though Tuchel appreciates that when the German centre-back does contribute, they can be vital. His previous Chelsea goal pushed the club through their tense bid to finish in the top four last season, the opener against Leicester City in the penultimate fixture.
Thiago has always been an asset at attacking set-pieces, as Tuchel learnt when the veteran Brazilian, who turns 37 on Wednesday, was his captain at Paris Saint-Germain. “A fantastic professional,” Tuchel beamed of him. Thiago is not the tallest of central defenders, but there are coiled springs in his thighs. He has an excellent leap, and a fine sense of timing, the key to his goal at Spurs, where he met a Marcos Alonso corner to register his first goal since last December.
Alonso’s precision with a dead ball has been a boon for Tuchel. Chelsea’s first of their 12 goals so far in the league came from a free-kick from the Spaniard, whose career is on the up again, having drifted under Frank Lampard. Alonso was utterly marginalised for four months until Tuchel arrived in January. He now appears to have leapfrogged England international Ben Chilwell in the hierarchy at left wing-back.
Right wing-back Reece James scored his first Chelsea goal for over a year in the 2-0 win against Arsenal last month. Central defender Trevoh Chalobah scored in his Premier League debut in the 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace. They are among 11 Chelsea players to have registered goals in competitive matches already this season.
That spread of threat is a useful tool in a title race, as Manchester City, whom Chelsea host on Saturday, would testify. Last season’s English champions achieved top place in the Premier League with midfielder Ilkay Gundogan contributing more goals than anybody in a City squad whose 83 league goals were distributed among 16 players.
“We are in a good place at the moment,” said Tuchel, indicating opportunities in the starting XI would be extended for the visit of Villa. “The group is a strong group and we have to take care of it.”
Tuchel spoke of “a trust in the bench, so we can turn to people to have an instant impact.”
And amid all the goals from the back, he also looks forward to some from his under-pressure frontman. Timo Werner, the €50m striker, is yet to get off the mark this season.
“In the first games [of the season] I don’t think he was happy with his performances,” said Tuchel, “but Timo is more relaxed and fluid in his movements. There are clear signs he is in a good way. Against Tottenham he gave us an impression of how dangerous he and Romelu can be together.”
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
