Thomas Tuchel has explained his decision to omit Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea's starting eleven in the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace. The Blues boss has handed starts to Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount following the trident's impressive displays against Real Madrid and Southampton.
The Belgium international has missed yet another start in a big game for the west London side this season, adding fuel to fire amid growing speculation regarding his future. Lukaku has featured seven times for Chelsea in the Premier League since the turn of the new year and, while the 28-year-old has struggle with injuries, his misfortune in front of goal hasn't bolstered his case.
Speaking ahead of the bout on ITV, Tuchel explained his reasoning behind dropping the Blues' £97.5m striker. He said: "The match fitness was not there. Otherwise, he would have had a very good chance [to start]."
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Speaking too ahead of the bout on ITV, Ian Wright described Havertz as fantastic. The former Arsenal striker also showered Mount with praise before defending Werner.
"That front three. Havertz is fantastic," Wright said. "Mount with his energy. Timo Werner doesn’t get a lot of credit for the amount of work that he does. He misses chances so people focus on that more This front three have so many aspects to their game, they’ll cause a lot of problems."
Werner, Havertz and Mount have guided Chelsea to imperious wins in recent times, combing to score nine goals in the previous two. Despite Tuchel having looked unsure as to what his best front-three may be at times this season, the trio seem to have clicked.
Lukaku has struggled to acclimatise to life in the Premier League since returning to Chelsea from Inter Milan for an eye-watering fee. While one of the Belgium international's primary concerns has been his misfortune in front of goal, the 28-year-old has also struggled to engage in interplay.
The distances between Lukaku and his partnering inside-forwards — or number tens — have been too big, which has left him isolated. On the contrary, Havertz has been the opposite and accommodated Tuchel's favourable philosophies.
