Chelsea continue to soldier along this season, putting together a fairly successful campaign even if they have slipped out of the title race. They will play in a Carabao Cup final next weekend, while they are also still in the running for FA Cup and Champions League honours.
However, one area of concern at Stamford Bridge should be lack of impact from Romelu Lukaku.
While Thomas Tuchel side's would manage a late 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday, the Belgian was a non-factor. In fact he had only two touches in the first half of the game, with one of those coming from kick-off. It is not the impact you would expect from a striker that cost £97.5million only last summer.
Lukaku must do better, but it must also be said that he has not exactly been helped by his manager.
Thomas Tuchel has not adapted the tactics of the team to suit his striker's playing style, often leaving him isolated up front and largely left out of the play.
Match of the Day panel question handling of Romelu Lukaku
Speaking on Match of the Day last night, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Ian Wright all criticised the German for not doing more to ensure Romelu Lukaku gets the service that he requires.
"How can you pay that much money and not play to his strengths?"
What's going on with Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea?#MOTD on @BBCOne and @BBCiPlayer - https://t.co/IQvwYDcJBg #BBCFootball #Chelsea pic.twitter.com/Yd49UIkFAJ— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) February 19, 2022
Shearer: What is the point in paying £90million if you're not going to play to your forward's strengths? It's very frustrating.
I know what I would be doing at halftime and also on the training ground. I know they're not working on things on the training ground because they're not doing it in the game for him or for the team.
Lineker: I don't know about you two, but when I played if I wasn't getting much of the ball or the service, I would be hammering players. Sometimes perhaps embarrassingly so.
You would be giving people a hard time and shouting and screaming.
Wright: They were told 'you put it in there, if they're not in there we will have a go at the forwards'. They cannot be doing it in training because they're not looking into an area when the ball should be put in. You've got to attack it.
How can you pay that much money and not play to his strengths?
It does certainly seem that more needs to be done to get the best out of Lukaku, even if he is lacking in form.
However, his manager believes his tactics are not the reason for the club record signing failing to fire. Speaking after the game, Tuchel did admit that Lukaku made little impact against Palace.
No. No, it’s not about system...
Obviously he was not involved and could not make a point today. I’m not sure if it says so much about us in general.
If Chelsea are to have a successful second half of the season, they will need to ensure that Romelu Lukaku comes into form.
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