Chelsea managed to get past Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday but forward Romelu Lukaku had a very average and dull outing.
The Belgian was a doubt for this game due to muscle fatigue but he did manage to get a start. The forward was paired up front alongside Timo Werner and everyone was expecting him to assert his dominance. Sadly though, that was not the case.
Thomas Tuchel decided to take him off in the 77th minute and immediately there were fears of a potential injury, especially since he did not play for Belgium during the international break.
Romelu Lukaku is the marquee player signing for Chelsea this time around and an injury to him will be really bad news for Tuchel. But thankfully, the manager has come out to make it clear that tiredness was the only reason why he chose to take the centre-forward off.
The German said, as quoted: “I just felt him a bit tired. I thought we did, all together, a very strong 65 or 70 minutes including Romelu.
View this post on Instagram
“I’m not concerned. I felt him a bit tired – and then isolated because we as a block were defending too deep.
“No concerns. The best thing is if he scores, but he’s very unselfish and when he was in (goalscoring) situations it was close offside decisions.
“That’s the way it is sometimes. No need to worry.”
Will Romelu Lukaku start against Malmo?
Romelu Lukaku had come into this game with muscle fatigue which is why Thomas Tuchel did not want to risk using him for the whole 90 minutes. And we are confident that he will also be rested in midweek.
Chelsea take on Malmo in the Champions League in midweek and since Malmo are not a very strong opponent, the manager might choose to give Lukaku the night off.
Romelu Lukaku has gone six games without scoring for Chelsea ❌❌❌❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/JH2qhMKvCv
— Goal (@goal) October 16, 2021
Tuchel has players like Ziyech and Kai Havertz who can aptly fill into the same role so there’s no point in risking an injury.
Also, Romelu Lukaku has failed to replicate his form from the Serie A, scoring just three goals in seven Premier League games this season. And against the big sides, he’s gone missing.
This would be the perfect opportunity to give him some time off and let him recharge his batteries before the Norwich City match.
