Thomas Tuchel says he dropped Romelu Lukaku from the Chelsea starting team for Tuesday night's Champions League tie with Lille to take the spotlight off the Belgian striker.
Lukaku's performance in the weekend's 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace was the subject of intense scrutiny. The 28-year-old had a record low seven touches in the game.
Lukaku was an unused substitute as Chelsea defeated Lille 2-0 in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie. Kai Havertz, who Tuchel opted to start in Lukaku's stead, opened the scoring after eight minutes via a header from a Hakim Ziyech corner. Christian Pulisic added Chelsea's second just after the hour mark.
Kai Havertz heads Chelsea in front after 8 minutes 🔵🎯
A perfect start 🙌 pic.twitter.com/a3MmwZKJWH— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) February 22, 2022
"It was not the moment after the match, where everyone was focused on his few touches to put him into the next fire," Tuchel said after the game.
"It was the moment to take a step back, that was the decision and that's it.
"We have now had a good win and all the questions are still about Romelu, so the focus is huge. There are nine other players who did not play and we should never forget that we consider this sport a team sport."
Chelsea at their best 🔵🤩
Christian Pulisic doubles their lead 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HK8RdpnfhH— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) February 22, 2022
Havertz's goal was his seventh of the season, and his second in the Champions League. The German forward said playing in a more advanced position is "good" for him.
"We have a lot of good strikers so it is also good to have a change and not make it easy for the opposition," said the 22-year-old.
"Today it worked good and I enjoy every forward position."
Picture credit: sbonsi / Shutterstock.com
See Also: Chelsea's Lille Performance Raises Major Questions Over Romelu Lukaku Future
