Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel reveals he has dropped striker Romelu Lukaku for “tactical reasons” in their Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool today.
It marks a second game that the Belgian has been snubbed in the starting lineup for the Blues, having sat on the bench for the Champions League clash with Lille in midweek.
Lukaku has struggled since making his switch from Inter Milan last summer, scoring just five goals in the Premier League so far this season.
The 28-year-old also suffered a mixture of injuries and off-the-field issues, though some of those problems were self-inflicted after an interview with Sky Italia.
Since his return to the side, there has been still been a struggle to get him on a goal scoring streak, with Tuchel admitting to the official website that he is not at the top of his game: “What I see from him [Lukaku], what I hear from him, what I feel from him and from every other player is that he wants to be at his top level, and he is not at the moment which can sometimes happen.”
The decision to not start Lukaku for a cup final was also one that won’t have been taken lightly from the manager, given the importance of the game.
Tuchel instead opted for Kai Havertz, who has come up trumps in big games for the Blues twice already.
The forward ’s chip over Ederson secured a second Champions League title for the West London club, while it was his penalty that won the Club World Cup over Palmeiras.
The head coach explained his reasoning behind dropping Lukaku to Sky Sports, claiming he needed “runners” to cause problems for the Liverpool backline.
He said: “If you look at the history he starts a lot matches but today is about, for us, we think it’s a bit more about running and runnin behind the line.
“Kai [Havertz], Christian [Pulisic] and Mason [Mount] are today, from a tactical point of view, from a characteristic of their style, a better fit and it’s very nice to have Romelu from the bench to influence the game hopefully in a decisive manner.”
The Blues will be hoping the decision doesn’t come back to haunt them come the end of the day, with a trophy on the line.
