Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has not been short of advice on how to approach the hot issue of the month at Stamford Bridge — Romelu Lukaku’s making public his unhappiness with his “situation” at the club. Tuchel consulted with senior players ahead of dropping Lukaku at the weekend.
Expert counsel on how to best manage Lukaku could also have been sought from the other side of London, although in the circumstances, Tuchel was not likely to be chatting to Antonio Conte about a centre-forward who the Italian knows very well and is admired by. Certainly not in the days leading up to Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final against Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur.
Lukaku, whose transfer from Inter Milan cost Chelsea more than €100m in the summer, has apologised for saying, in the interview — which was unauthorised by his current club — with Sky Italia that he was “not happy” with aspects of Chelsea’s game plan for him, while also stressing his affection for Inter.
“He apologised and is back in the squad,” reported Tuchel on Tuesday. “He is aware of what happened and what he created and feels the responsibility to clean the mess up but there may still be a ‘smell’, of course.”
The controversy, Tuchel added, “was not that big, and also not small — but small enough to stay calm, to accept an apology and to move on.”
Still, Tuchel admitted Lukaku’s remarks “were surprising to me. I never, before the interview, had the slightest doubt that he was not committed. He is an emotional guy, he does not hold back with his opinion.
“Was the intention to create trouble? To leave the club? I don't know,” added Tuchel, who met with Lukaku on Monday. “Was it to put pressure on the coach? No. Of course he should have known better but that is why we have cleared the air together.”
Chelsea have no intention of parting ways with the most expensive player signed in their year under Tuchel, but they recognise he has not reached the peaks of form he showed over two years at Inter, playing under Conte, the coach Lukaku credits with nurturing his all-round game.
Conte, a former Chelsea manager, made the Belgian his priority recruit when he took over at Inter in 2019: 64 Lukaku goals in 95 games under Conte showed why. Lukaku became the fulcrum of the side, his striking partnership with Lautaro Martinez so effective they were referred to as a single, devastating unit, nicknamed ‘Lu-La’. It was only broken up because Inter had heavy debts to service, so Lukaku was sold and Conte, unwilling to work under a suddenly constrained budget, left, joining Spurs in November.
After four months at Tuchel’s Chelsea, Lukaku has not yet found his equivalent of a Lautaro, and he hinted, in the controversial interview, at frustrations about tactics and strategy. “I an not happy at the moment,” he said. “The coach has decided on a different formation, but I have to stick with it.”
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 2: player ratings
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 7 The Senegalese should have done better at the near post for Salah’s goal. He redeemed himself with a brilliant second-half save from the Egyptian. Getty -
Trevoh Chalobah - 4 The 22-year-old made an awful mistake and presented Mane with the first goal when he elected to head the ball rather than use his left foot. He made a good challenge to deny Salah and was replaced by Jorginho with 20 minutes to go. Reuters -
Thiago Silva - 7 The 37-year-old does not have a lot of pace but he used space effectively to cut out the danger. He was untroubled by Jota. EPA -
Antonio Rudiger - 5 The German went missing for Salah’s goal but won a robust challenge that led to Pulisic’s equaliser. There were spells when the game passed him by. AFP -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 The Spaniard was smashed in the face by Mane’s elbow immediately after kickoff and given a tough time by the striker afterwards. He stuck at the job. Reuters -
N’Golo Kante - 8 The Frenchman took charge of the midfield. He pressed hard, distributed the ball nicely and provided a great pass for the equaliser. Getty -
Mateo Kovacic - 8 The Croat took a while to get a foothold in the match but grew in stature throughout the first half. His splendid goal sparked Chelsea’s revival and he was excellent in the second period. AP -
Marcos Alonso - 6 The Spaniard was made to look daft by Salah for the second goal and had his defensive frailties exposed. He was better going forward and his fee kick led to his team’s first goal. Getty -
Mason Mount - 5 The 22-year-old was frustrated by his inability to find space. He was not as influential as normal and flirted with disaster with a silly flick of the foot at the prone Tsimikas. EPA -
Kai Havertz - 6 The German’s touch was poor but his pressing was effective and created an early chance for Pulisic. He never looked like scoring and was taken off for Hudson-Odoi with 11 minutes to go. Getty -
Christian Pulisic - 7 The American should have scored when presented with an early chance but took his goal beautifully. He was moved to wing-back as Chelsea changed their tactics. EPA -
SUBS: Jorginho - 6 The 30-year-old joined the action with 20 minutes to go for Chalobah. He gave the midfield a more secure look. Reuters -
Callum Hudson-Odoi - 6 The 21-year-old was brought on for Havertz in the 79th minute. He did not get enough time to use his pace against a tiring defence. Getty -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Caoimhin Kelleher - 7 The Irishman made two good saves to deny Pulisic. He was assured with the ball at his feet and had no chance with either goal. Getty -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5 The 23-year-old was fortunate to get away with a huge early mistake but his distribution was mainly good in the first half. A poor pass contributed to Chelsea’s equaliser. EPA -
Ibrahima Konate - 6 The Frenchman’s positioning was sometimes questionable but he was strong in the tackle and in the air. He battled on even after a knock on the head. EPA -
Virgil Van Dijk - 4 The Dutchman seemed disconnected from Konate. He was troubled by Havertz and jogged back for Pulisic’s goal. A poor performance. EPA -
Kostas Tsimikas - 7 The Greek gave Mount little latitude and was effective in defence. His attacking production was less impressive but he kept attempting to get forward. Getty -
Fabinho - 4 The Brazilian had a difficult afternoon. He was off the pace and too many of his passes went backwards. Getty -
James Milner - 4 The 35-year-old made a great challenge in the area to stop Mount but gave away a poor free kick that led to Chelsea’s first goal. He became more ineffective as the game went on and was replaced by Keita in the 69th minute. AFP -
Jordan Henderson - 4 The captain toiled away but to little effect. His passing was slipshod and he was left flatfooted by the Chelsea midfield. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah - 7 The Egyptian scored a sublime goal against his former club and was denied another by Mendy’s fine save. He did not allow the defenders to settle. Getty -
Diogo Jota - 4 A lacklustre outing for the Portuguese. He was involved in the opening goal but it was one of the few occasions he made an impact. Taken off for Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 69th minute. Getty -
Sadio Mane - 7 The Senegalese got away with a yellow card for an ugly elbow on Azpilicueta after six seconds. To add to Chelsea’s chagrin, he capitalised on Chalobah’s error to score the opener. A sparky, aggressive display from the striker, who was replaced by Jones in the final minute AP -
SUBS: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6 The 28-year-old replaced Jota with 21 minutes to go and brought an injection of energy to the team but produced little threat. PA -
Naby Keita - 6 The Guinean joined the fray for Milner in the 69th minute. He was busy and matched up well with the Chelsea midfield. AP -
Curtis Jones - 6 The 20-year-old came on in the 90th minute for Mane for his first appearance in two months. It was a welcome return to action. Reuters
Tuchel’s reaction to that comment? “I think players get the best out of themselves. With Romelu it is not about finding positions, he is a striker, a number nine and that is it. It is about adaptation to a different team, teammates. He was not happy because he was injured [for a month in the autumn] and then had Covid [missing two league games in December] but he wants to score for us, make us successful.”
For all that Tuchel was taken aback by Lukaku’s candour, the idea that Chelsea have yet to maximise the Belgian’s potential is not new. It certainly struck Conte, the striker’s former mentor, in September. Conte, then working as a pundit for Italian television, remarked: “Chelsea have not quite worked out how to play him. If they get there, they will be the side to beat.”
Conte could also testify to Tuchel that Chelsea, with its notoriously high turnover of managers, is not an easy club to be in charge of a troubled centre-forward. Conte has been there. The summer after the Italian guided Chelsea to the Premier League title in 2017, his relationship with his leading scorer from that campaign, Diego Costa, deteriorated badly.
Costa was gone the following January. Conte ended his two-year spell with Chelsea four months later.
Wednesday will be Conte’s first return to Stamford Bridge as a rival manager. “It will be a pleasure,” Conte said. “Over two seasons, I created a good relationship with players and staff at Chelsea. We did a really good job. There will be emotion.” And there may be a knowing glance shared between Conte and his old ally Lukaku.
