Tuchel sidesteps search for missing Lukaku
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ROMELU, ROMELU, wherefore art thou, Romelu?
Apologies for misquoting Shakespeare, but there is a valid question being asked by Chelsea supporters after another lacklustre performance from Lukaku. He set a club record last summer when he was signed for €100m, and he set an unwanted record at Selhurst Park on Saturday when he managed only seven touches of the ball, and one of them was to kick off. It was the lowest total from any Premier League player since these statistics have been recorded, and led to a question that Thomas Tuchel sidestepped smartly.
“I'm not sure if I can answer your question, or if it says much in general,” the Chelsea coach said with a shrug before moving on to discuss a more general malaise among his side, who stumbled over the finish line with an 89th-minute goal from Hakim Ziyech, the only moment of quality in a drab game.
Lukaku's listlessness was not unique among Chelsea players, who were playing for the first time since winning the Club World Cup in the desert heat of Abu Dhabi a week earlier.
Coming back to a wet and windy London, battered by Storm Eunice, appeared to take its toll and this was a lethargic performance, and Tuchel added: “I know we can play better and we want to play better but we looked exhausted. It has not been an easy week.
“We came from a 30-degree temperature difference, we have six players with colds from the air-conditioning on the flight, we had jet lag, no players slept well in Abu Dhabi so it has been far from a normal week. That is why I did not over-expect in terms of our performance.”
By contrast, he is expecting more from his players when they face Lille at home tomorrow in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
“We'll play at Stamford Bridge confident of a good performance and delivering at a high level. We can be confident of that with the fans behind us.”
He also believes Chelsea will not underestimate the French side, even though his side are clear favourites. “It's very important for us to be realistic and to accept that the first leg, like games against teams from mid-table (in the Premier League) can become difficult.
“Once we accept that, it's the first step towards playing with freedom and to become better. We should not think too much of how others see us as favourites against Lille and just accept it's a phase where we feel it's more difficult than at other times and this is the situation for the match on Tuesday.”
Perhaps Chelsea thought they would have an easy ride at Palace, who have yet to win a league game this year and are sliding towards the relegation zone. The contest turned out to be fairly even for most of the game, before Ziyech struck at the end. 15 minutes earlier the Moroccan had put the ball in the net only to be denied a goal when Lukaku had been caught offside in the build-up, the Belgian's only real contribution to the game.
Ziyech made no mistake in the 89th minute, however, when substitute Marcos Alonso swung in a deep cross that evaded the Palace defence, and the Moroccan hit a sweet volley with the inside of his boot to snatch victory.
It was a game of few chances more notable for wayward finishing than fine goalkeeping. Palace did not manage a shot on target throughout, although both Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha shot wide of the far post when in on goal.
Chelsea's finishing was not much better. Christian Pulisic missed an early chance, Palace keeper Vincente Guaita stopped shots from Antonio Rudiger and N'Golo Kante, before being replaced by Jack Butland at half-time.
“It was very frustrating to lose like that,” said a deflated Patrick Vieira.
Tuchel was just glad to get the points. “At least we won and can move on, no need to analyse it too much,” he said.
But he has to work out how to get the best out of his misfiring million-Euro man.
4-3-3 Guaita 7 (Butland 46); Clyne 6, Andersen 7, Guehi 6, Mitchell 6; Kouyate 6, McArthur 6 (Mateta 89), Schlupp 6; Ayew 5 (Eze 84), Olise 7, Zaha 7
Mendy 6; Christensen 7, Silva 8, Rudiger 6 Sarr 6 (Alonso 74); Ziyech 8, Kante 7 (Kovacic 74), Jorginho 6 (Loftus-Cheek 74); Pulisic 5; Lukaku 5, Havertz 6
David Coote 6/10