Romelu Lukaku last played a full 90 minutes on 2 October, with a bout of Covid following an ankle sprain, but his 45-minute cameo at Villa Park was a timely boost for Chelsea at a time where Thomas Tuchel is getting rather ticked off.
The Belgian was back among the goals and back to bundling defenders over in a bruising second-half display which turned the match in Chelsea’s favour against Aston Villa. “We are the hunters now,” he declared after the 3-1 win, with leaders Manchester City six points ahead of them at the halfway point of the season.
Lukaku is up for the scrap, and though he will be intent on turning his tally of four league goals for the term into double digits in the coming weeks, his appearance went against medical advice and could come back to haunt Chelsea at a time where they need him most.
“He’s not ready for that even if he wants it,” Tuchel warned after Lukaku had said that he had been “working hard” to get back to full fitness. “It was more than the fitness and medical department recommended for him,” Tuchel added, “but we thought we could take the risk and be more offensive.”
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Four defenders out of contract is an unwelcome distraction at a bad time for Chelsea24 December, 2021Tuchel is in no mood to hide his current displeasure given Chelsea saw their request to postpone the Wolves match turned down by the Premier League earlier this month. “It’s not fair,” he said on Boxing Day. “They make us play all the time, even if we have Covid. We have new injuries and it won’t stop. People at the green table in offices make these decisions. We are struggling and we’re pressing our players.”
Lukaku may be back for now, so too Mateo Kovacic, but replacing them on the sidelines could well be N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva after the pair hobbled off in the second half against Villa, and their prognoses could well dictate the mood Tuchel is in come Wednesday’s match against Brighton.
That will be Chelsea’s first of four straight games at Stamford Bridge, with Liverpool to follow on 2 January before Tottenham in the EFL Cup and Chesterfield in the FA Cup.
Home comforts could ease the strain, but the schedule is unrelenting, with a trip to Manchester City sandwiched between two more matches against Spurs – all before their Club World Cup appearance in February.
By this point, Chelsea’s Premier League title bid could either be firmly on track or completely derailed, and with the Club World Cup adding to the chaos, Tuchel knows his side will be playing catch-up regardless when they are back from Abu Dhabi.
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For that reason, Tuchel’s push for five substitutes could be a bigger win than any three points they have picked up of late. The German was already intent on re-introducing five changes per match before the game against Villa, and the sight of two more injured players will only have added to his belief that the Premier League must reinstate this rule.
That could be a big ask, however. Premier League clubs voted against five subs at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, and though Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Ralf Rangnick have also addressed their concerns lately, there will be little traction unless more speak out.
Managers further down the table would need to add their voices to the growing call, but with this rule arguably favouring the bigger teams, they may be reluctant to speak out.
For now, then, Tuchel will have to make do, and a fighting fit Lukaku would certainly help Chelsea’s cause.
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