Friday December 31, 2021
The pressure on blues coaches grows
Chelsea star takes on Thomas Tuchel
For coach Thomas Tuchel, things are currently not going well. The English championship already seems to be playful after a weak phase, the missing winter break and the corona problem annoy him and now star striker Lukaku is also messing with him.
Striker star Romelu Lukaku has expressed his dissatisfaction with his current situation at Chelsea under coach Thomas Tuchel. “The coach has decided to play a different system, but I can’t give up and have to keep working and behave like a professional,” said the 28-year-old professional footballer on Sky Sport Italia. “Physically I’m fine. I’m not happy with the situation, but that’s normal,” he added.
At a press conference before the game against Liverpool, Tuchel said he was “surprised” by the statements made by his striker. “I don’t see him as unhappy. I feel the exact opposite. That’s why I’m surprised,” said the 48-year-old. “We don’t like it, of course. It creates background noises that we don’t need and that aren’t helpful,” he criticized. Possible consequences for Lukaku after the explosive statements should now be openly discussed internally. “We need a quiet environment and we have to be focused, that doesn’t help,” said the coach.
Even in the league under pressure
As recently as October, Tuchel had said almost exuberantly about the Belgian. “It’s much easier with him than with Neymar or Mbappé,” said the star coach, referring to his time at PSG, in an interview with “Sportweek”: “In Paris, I was something like the sports minister.” The Belgian international Lukaku had only made 13 league appearances at the Premier League club this season due to injuries and scored five goals. “I’m not happy with the situation, but I can’t give up,” said Lukaku. Most recently, the team-mate of the German national players Timo Werner and Kai Havertz under coach Tuchel had again received more playing times and scored in two league games in a row.
So it cannot be ruled out that Lukaku will play against Liverpool on Sunday despite his criticism. Both clubs are already under massive pressure in the first half of the season. The clubs of the German coaches Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp are eight and nine points behind leaders Manchester City.
Lukaku moved from Italian champions Inter Milan to Champions League winners in the summer of 2021. Inter still carry him “in my heart”, said the Belgian. “I’ll play there again, I really hope so,” said Lukaku, who apologized to the Inter fans for the nature of his departure: “I think everything that happened shouldn’t have happened like this. Like me, Inter left the way I communicated with the fans. “