DBasia.news – Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku recently caused quite a stir with an interview with Sky Sports. Not only talking about his former club, Inter Milan, Lukaku also criticized Thomas Tuchel’s playing system at Chelsea.
“Physically I’m fine, even better than before. After two years in Italy, where I worked a lot at Inter with the coach and nutritionist, I’m fine physically,” said Lukaku.
“I think the coach has chosen to play with another system, I just have to not give up and keep working and being professional. I’m not happy with the situation, but I’m a professional and I’m not going to give up.”
Worse yet, Lukakubak regretted his decision to leave Inter for Chelsea by saying he hoped to be able to return to strengthen Il Nerazzurri in the future.
“I think everything that happened last summer shouldn’t have happened the way it supposed to, how I left Inter, the way I left the club, how I communicated with Inter fans,” added Lukaku.
“I’ve always said that I have Inter in my heart. I really hope from the bottom of my heart to return to Inter not at the end of my career, but when I am still at the top level to win more together.”
The Cause of Lukaku’s Troubles at Chelsea
Lukaku (28 years old) has played for Chelsea (period one), Everton, West Bromwich Albion, to Manchester United in England. So, why is he struggling with Chelsea?
Apollo Heyes in his writings in Football-Italy analyzes the reasons for the difficulty of Lukaku performing well at Chelsea. So far, Lukaku has only scored five goals in 13 Premier League games, compared to 64 goals and 16 assists in 95 games for Inter across all competitions in the span of two years, earning him the Scudetto.
The comparison is irrelevant because of the time Lukaku played at both clubs. But that’s just one comparison. There are also things that show Lukaku is not yet at his best at Chelsea. He has an average expected goals and assists (npxG+A) per 90 minutes of 0.81, then this season it has decreased to 0.63.
Lukaku’s number of shots has decreased (2.78 per 90 minutes last season to 2.39 this season), his number of passes has decreased (23.9 attempted passes per 90 minutes compared to 19 this season), and the number of touches and chances created has decreased.
Another thing is a different tactical system. Inter with Antonio Conte playing counter-attacks flowing in a 3-5-2 tactic, Lukaku partnering with Lautaro Martinez. Then with Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel played a system with possession at the 3-4-2-1 notch and that kept Lukaku isolated up front.
There’s also the difference in football culture in England and Italy: England are physical and that makes it difficult for Lukaku. Moreover, at Inter, Lukaku has a lot of space between defense and goals, while the average team against Chelsea plays defensively.
Not to mention other factors such as physical fitness. At Inter Lukaku is rarely injured but with Chelsea, Lukaku has missed nine games this season. No doubt a number of factors has made it challenging for Lukaku as the interview appeared.