It has been a tough week for some distinguished spectators in the Champions League. Luis Suarez, leading man in Atletico Madrid’s Liga-winning season in 2021, sat on the bench throughout the 1-1 draw with Manchester United that his team dominated. He watched an inspired Joao Felix, 13 years his junior, spearhead Atletico in his place.
A night earlier, Paulo Dybala sat out Juventus’s trip to Villarreal with injury. The game had barely started when Dusan Vlahovic, the 22-year-old new Juve recruit, marked his Champions League debut with a goal after less than 40 seconds.
The same night, there was no action at all at Stamford Bridge for 28-year-old Romelu Lukaku, an unused substitute during a 2-0 Chelsea win over Lille in which Kai Havertz, 22, scored a target-man’s goal and might have added two more.
If the feeling, as the first legs of the knockout stage concluded with teenager Anthony Elanga equalising Joao Felix’s excellent strike in Madrid, was of a subtle generational shift, the most compromised figure was not Suarez, or Dybala, or even an upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo, but Lukaku.
He is Chelsea’s most expensive signing, and returned only last summer to the club where, in his teens, he spent more time than he appreciated being marginalised.
The price of the ‘homecoming’, at supposedly his peak age, was more than €100m, to Inter Milan, but he has reason to doubt how full a role he might have in the season’s first domestic final, Sunday’s League Cup showdown against Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea manager, described Lukaku as “not only physically but mentally tired” when reviewing his decision to line up Havertz, Christian Pulisic - who scored the second Chelsea goal - and Hakim Ziyech as his front three against Lille.
Three days earlier, Ziyech had earned all three points against Crystal Palace on an afternoon when Lukaku’s contribution made headlines for entirely the wrong reasons: in 90 minutes he touched the ball a mere seven times.
Chelsea vs Lille player ratings
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 7 – A quiet game overall for the stopper, who distributed the ball well, and held on to just about every goal-bound shot. EPA -
Andreas Christensen 7 – Read the game beautifully to help shut down Lille’s threat from wide areas. Having said that, the impressive Renato Sanches did have the beating of the Danish defender once or twice. EPA -
Thiago Silva 8 – Another dominant performance from the former PSG man. The 37-year-old shut down Jonathan David with relative ease, massively blunting Lille’s attacking threat in the process. EPA -
Antonio Rudiger 6 – Very nearly sliced the ball into his own net early on, but that aside, the German was relatively solid. Reuters -
Cesar Azpilicueta 7 – The captain led by example once again. His relentless work rate set the tempo, having nearly assisted for Havertz inside the first few minutes after a run forward. AFP -
N’Golo Kante 9 – Another fantastic showing from the World Cup winner. His assist for Pulisic was especially notable, as he broke the lines with a driving run, before perfectly playing the winger through on goal. Getty Images -
Mateo Kovacic 7 – Not one of the Croatian’s best games, although his ability to keep the ball ticking over throughout did help to demotivate Lille in the first half. AFP -
Marcos Alonso 6 – Looked slightly ragged defensively, with Jonathan Bamba causing the wing-back plenty of problems in the first half. He was subsequently replaced in the second period as Chelsea looked to close out the match. Getty Images -
Hakim Ziyech 7 – Assisted Havertz for the home side’s opener, fizzing in a teasing corner that was duly headed home. While not as influential in the final third as his striking partners, the playmaker certainly left his mark on the tie. PA -
Kai Havertz 8 – Could have had a hat-trick inside the first 10 minutes. The German’s header from Ziyech’s corner was well directed, while his excellent movement starkly contrasts with that of a certain other Chelsea forward right now. Reuters -
Christian Pulisic 9 – Impressive in virtually every facet of the game. Alongside his well taken goal, the American also tracked back admirably in the second half to help Alonso out when required. Superb. Getty Images -
SUB: Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7 – Kept things simple in the middle of the park, seldom giving the ball away. Getty Images -
SUB: Saul Niguez 6 – Retained possession nicely in the final 30 minutes. Reuters -
SUB: Malang Sarr N/A – Slotted nicely into the left wing-back role after replacing Alonso. Getty Images -
SUB: Timo Werner N/A – Looked bright in the closing stages but didn’t see much of the ball. AP Photo -
LILLE RATINGS: Leo Jardim 7 – Could do very little about either of Chelsea’s goals. The Brazilian did however pull off a handful of decent saves. AP Photo -
Mehmet Zeki Celik 5 – A poor outing from the full-back, who was dragged out of position time and time again by the impressive Pulisic. AFP -
Jose Fonte 6 – Dealt well with Chelsea’s aerial threat, although the captain will have been left immensely frustrated by Havertz’s opener as the Chelsea striker was left unmarked in the Lille box. Getty Images -
Sven Botman 6 – The towering centre-back’s lack of mobility was on full display against Chelsea’s nimble attackers. That aside, he generally looked solid, avoiding any glaring mistakes. Reuters -
Tiago Djalo 5 – Pinned back for virtually the entire game. The Portuguese full-back was replaced in the second half. AFP -
Amadou Onana 6 – Linked up well at times with Lille’s front three, although he was caught out of position far too often when Chelsea had the ball. Reuters -
Xeka 6 – Gave the ball away cheaply on more than one occasion. A passenger throughout for the French side. Reuters -
Benjamin Andre 7 – Worked hard from the advanced midfield position. While his efforts often went unrewarded, his ball retention was impressive. Reuters -
Renato Sanches 7 – Lille’s danger man throughout, as he wasn’t afraid to take on – and beat – Chelsea’s defenders. The 24-year-old also showcased his range of passing with a handful of raking cross-field balls. Reuters -
Jonathan David 5 – A very disappointing outing for the highly promising Canadian. With chances few and far between for the away side, David’s flat-footedness will surely have frustrated his manager. Reuters -
Jonathan Bamba 7 – Lively in the final third, although the end product was often lacking. Showed flashes of how good he can be. AFP -
SUB: Hatem Ben Arfa N/A – Didn’t see too much of the ball in the closing stages. Getty Images -
SUB: Edon Zhegrova 6 – Was well marshalled by Chelsea’s back three after replacing David, who similarly struggled to find space. AFP -
SUB: Gabriel Gudmundsson 6 – A mistake free cameo from the Swede, who slotted into left-back for the final 20 minutes. Reuters -
SUB: Burak Yilmaz 5 – Couldn’t make the ball stick up top for the away side, with Chelsea controlling possession late on. EPA
In his last eight Chelsea games in England, Lukaku has scored once, against lower-division Chesterfield in a 5-1 FA Cup victory. The break in that sequence was in Abu Dhabi, where Lukaku goals swung the semi-final and the final of the Club World Cup Chelsea’s way.
But even there, he would be upstaged by Havertz, who is burnishing his reputation as the key man to deliver knockout blows for Tuchel’s Chelsea. Havertz etched his name into the club’s Hall of Fame with the winning goal in last May’s Champions League final against Manchester City; Havertz struck the extra-time penalty against Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final.
No manager of Chelsea omits the most expensive signing in the club’s history easily, but, right now, Tuchel need not feel pressure from his bosses to include the Belgian.
Certainly, Chelsea invested heavily to bring back Lukaku because it was believed his qualities would complete the jigsaw Tuchel had assembled impressively since replacing Frank Lampard in January last year.
Yet in the overall assessment of how skilfully the German maximises Chelsea’s other assets, the inconsistent impact of one €100 million central striker is balanced against the improvement in form of Havertz, who cost over €80m in 2020, and any coaxing of the best from the likes of €60m-plus Pulisic.
Tuchel, besides having delivered a European Cup within barely five months of taking over, has even rebuilt the reputation of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who remains second choice for his position behind Edu Mendy, but who looks closer to the €80m goalkeeper Chelsea signed in 2018 than he did 12 months ago.
Lukaku has openly said that at times he misses Inter, where he was the leading goalscorer and the apex of the tactical plan during last season’s annexing of the Serie A title. He can hardly have heard happily Tuchel’s explanation of his omission from the line-up last Tuesday as a choice in favour of the mobility of Havertz and pace of Pulisic: “The focus was on intensity, a high-speed game and also hard work on the ball and off the ball,” said Tuchel.
That did not mean, Tuchel made clear, that Lukaku would be kept in reserve, strictly as a Plan B. Chelsea have been careless with too many talents in the recent past to let that happen. They allowed Lukaku to leave, having scouted him as a teenager, once before and regretted it.
And they need only look the opposition line-up on Sunday to be reminded yet again, that back in 2014 - the year Lukaku was sold to Everton - they signed a very promising winger and let him go after a year spent watching far more often from the sidelines than playing. That player’s name was Mohamed Salah.
