When Romelu Lukaku scored against Arsenal in the second game of the season, it looked like his promised glorious homecoming.
Arriving back at Stamford Bridge for £98 million, Romelu Lukaku had just played two seasons for Inter in which he became the devastating striker he always had the potential to be.
He returned to England ready to finally be one of the Premier League’s totemic figures. It hasn’t exactly gone to plan since then.
Poor form, tactical dissonance and that infamous interview has somewhat tarnished the prodigal son vibe.
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Romelu Lukaku was again under scrutiny after the weekend’s game against Crystal Palace. He only had seven touches in the entire game, and was dropped for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Lille.
Manager Thomas Tuchel revealed after the game that he omitted the striker to take him out of the firing line.
“It was not the moment after the match where everyone was focused on his few touches, so it was not the moment to put him into the next fire,” said Tuchel.
“It was the moment to take a step back, that was the decision and that’s it. We have now had a strong win and a strong performance.
“We have now had a good win – and all the questions are still about Romelu, so the focus is huge. There are nine other players who did not play and we should never forget that we consider this sport a team sport.”
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Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic scored Chelsea’s goal against Lille, further underlining how the team is not set up to get the best from Lukaku.
The season is quickly getting away from the Belgian. 2021/2022 will not go down as a classic season for Lukaku, but if he can stop getting himself left out of the team, there will be ample opportunities to at least contribute, especially in the Champions League.
