Romelu Lukaku was highly isolated against Manchester City in Saturday’s defeat sending a message on how Thomas Tuchel needs others to step up.
21 touches, a 33% pass completion, and no shots on goal were Lukaku’s statistics against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Belgium’s anonymity was symptomatic of the way Chelsea were stifled by Guardiola’s tactical plan at Stamford Bridge. The 1-0 win for City offered Guardiola a small measure of revenge after losing out on three successive occasions to Thomas Tuchel last season, most famously in the Champions League final in May.
But for Tuchel, questions will be asked as to why the 3-5-2 formation that worked so well against Spurs last week failed so spectacularly six days later.
Lukaku partnered up front with Timo Werner from the start with Tuchel clearly looking to use his compatriot’s pace to stretch the City defense and create spaces for his new No.9 to thrive in.
However, with three defensively minded midfielders lined up behind the pair, the home side struggled to find their way out and produce an opening for their forward duo.
The £98 million striker found himself in between Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias. But, perhaps, the biggest issue was the lack of No.10 who would be able to link play between midfield and attack effectively.
Mason Mount sat the game out with a minor injury and his influence was sorely missed. With the England International out, there might have been an expectation that Kai Havertz would have started. Unfortunately, he was introduced as a substitute for the final 30 minutes after Gabriel Jesus had broken the deadlock.
Meanwhile, Hakim Ziyech did not make it off the bench with Tuchel’s expensive attacking options not providing the desired displays.
Chelsea has spent a lucrative large amount on their attacking talent and Lukaku, as good as he is, cannot be relied upon to do it all over the course of a whole season of fighting on five fronts.
With City having shown Lukaku can be stopped if his supply line is disrupted, it clearly shows other members of the attacking unit must step up although Tuchel can-to an extent-fix that with some tactical tweaks.