Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel has jumped to the defence of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku who touched the ball just seven times against Crystal Palace, insisting “it’s not the time to laugh about him”.
Lukaku was handed his 12th Premier League start of the season at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but failed to make an impact as the Blues laboured to an unconvincing 1-0 victory.
The Belgium international, who returned to Stamford Bridge from Inter in a £98 million ($133m) deal last summer, was unable to muster a single shot at goal and only had seven touches – fewer than any other player to see 90 minutes of action this season.
Chelsea are now looking ahead to the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie against Lille, and Lukaku is in contention to lead the line once again.
Tuchel jumped to the forward’s defence at his pre-match press conference, telling reporters: “It’s not the time to laugh about him, he is our player and we will protect him.”
The Blues head coach is aware of the damning statistics Lukaku posted against Palace, but has played down their significance and written his performance off as a bad day at the office.
“What can I do? I don’t know. Well, we have to deal with it,” Tuchel added. “The data is out there and speaks the language that he wasn’t in our game.
“With strikers, it can be like this when they lack confidence or depending on the game.”