Romelu Lukaku back to Chelsea - and gone again!

[goose]

46 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Lukaku stayed on simply to help us defend set pieces better.

I think this is the point. Liverpool had a massive height advantage at set pieces.

[axman2526]

10 minutes ago, goose said:

I think this is the point. Liverpool had a massive height advantage at set pieces.

Indeed. Both CBS and Jota are really good in the air. 

Could have Werner hurt them? Sure of we released the right ball they would not have caught him, however would he have taken the chance? Maybe, maybe not. Lukaku was a know quality on set pieces, we added to it more with Trev as well.

As much as I am really disappointed with the result, I have a feeling TT is quite happy with it given the circumstances.

[weetee]

8 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

As much as I am really disappointed with the result, I have a feeling TT is quite happy with it given the circumstances.

Didn't you watch the game? They all were really happy. They must have felt playing 11v12 the first half going into the cabin fearing it'd become a 12v10 in the second half and they didn't just secure one point but rather kept Liverpool away from winning a 6point match which was the most important task. They'll batter them at the Bridge though.

 

Back on topic: I though Rom had a good game. It was a joy watching him keeping 2-3 defenders busy with him alone and if we weren't down to ten I can just imagine what a fresh Werner would have been able with a those free spaces.

Edited August 29, 2021 by weetee

[andy]

He has made himself into a classic number 9. Strap yourself in he will have some awful games that’s how it works 

there were many games where Drogba was boo’d off the pitch. (Don’t argue that point as it’s true)

[axman2526]

7 minutes ago, weetee said:

Didn't you watch the game? They all were really happy. They must have felt playing 11v12 the first half going into the cabin fearing it'd become a 12v10 in the second half and they didn't just secure one point but rather kept Liverpool away from winning a 6point match which was the most important task. They'll batter them at the Bridge though.

We could have battered them yesterday. All Mendy had to do was make simple saves that probably even Kepa makes (alright maybe not...).

Our goal was our most difficult chance. One through ball to by Lukaku to Havertz, 0-2, one through ball by either Kante or Havertz to Lukaku, 0-3. Lastly Mount to Havertz tap in 0-4. Done, finished.

We are losing mendy for 2 months of key games, we are going to drop lots of points during that time with Kepa in goal, so we need to be near perfect before it and hope Senegal get knocked out early.

Edited August 29, 2021 by axman2526

[RMH]

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

Lukaku stayed on simply to help us defend set pieces better.

Out of curiosity, how many  clearances did he have? Because I don’t remember him defending any set piece and the stats I find in google say that he had no clearances. I think he stayed on because Tuchel saw him a a good option in the counter and to battle VVD, but I think Werner would have helped more in the defensive duties and would have run their defenders more tired. And I’m not saying that Lukaku had a bad game, I think he did well given the circumstances.

[axman2526]

3 hours ago, RMH said:

Out of curiosity, how many  clearances did he have? Because I don’t remember him defending any set piece and the stats I find in google say that he had no clearances. I think he stayed on because Tuchel saw him a a good option in the counter and to battle VVD, but I think Werner would have helped more in the defensive duties and would have run their defenders more tired. And I’m not saying that Lukaku had a bad game, I think he did well given the circumstances.

Not sure on that one mate, think it was more the idea he would be more useful from a defensive standpoint, don't have stats to back that up. @Gol15 perhaps does.

Werner could have been a difference maker, I think he was not used and Trev was because our focus was on 1 point rather than 3.

[venom2011]

8 hours ago, RMH said:

Out of curiosity, how many  clearances did he have? Because I don’t remember him defending any set piece and the stats I find in google say that he had no clearances. I think he stayed on because Tuchel saw him a a good option in the counter and to battle VVD, but I think Werner would have helped more in the defensive duties and would have run their defenders more tired. And I’m not saying that Lukaku had a bad game, I think he did well given the circumstances.

I saw him making a couple of useful 'contributions' during defensive corners, but not necessarily the one who cleared though. Werner doesn't run anyone tired in a 10v12, against such experienced CBs. With a bit of luck we could have scored twice in the 2nd and that would have been down to Lukaku. 

Let's also not forget that TT needs to see what Lukaku offers during these situations. In a few months he should have a good idea as to our best combinations etc. 

[Gol15]

5 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Not sure on that one mate, think it was more the idea he would be more useful from a defensive standpoint, don't have stats to back that up. @Gol15 perhaps does.

Werner could have been a difference maker, I think he was not used and Trev was because our focus was on 1 point rather than 3.

Only 3 of our players made 0 clearances in that game, Lukaku is one of them.

But we managed to regain possession and move the ball around with a player less in the second half (Kovacic and Alonso were huge there), Lukaku was pressured by 2-3 players and managed to keep the attack going. Never mind what Klopp said about playing against 10 men, tactically and practically having that 1 man advantage changes the game radically when two top teams or similar teams play, we saw Leicester crashing against West Ham just some week ago.

My line of thinking was that Tuchel could gamble and put in Werner to accompany Lukaku for a counter attack, taking out Mount in the process but that was too risky of course. But I still think that Werner-Lukaku should be a thing, that's our version of Lukaku-L.Martinez that won Inter the league title.

Werner solo instead of Lukaku would be like searching for him to make a run wide, he's not capable of holding the ball and keeping that possession for an extra few passes like Lukaku.

Mount could have switched to his left foot and go in the middle there, IMO he's capable of scoring from there.

Kovacic could have scored from this one.

We blew 2 good openings in the first half due to some extra touch with the ball but our attack looks more dangerous than Salah, Jota, Mane. The only problem for me is that Lukaku had 2 shots and both were blocked, looked too easy for Matip and Van Dijk to block him.

 

 

[Bob stark]

Lukaku stayed because we played one isolated st. People said Werner will make pool cb tired, I don't know what is the point of this. We have very few chances attacking pool in the 2nd half.

Will Werner stop pool from pressing? They pressed us last year when they played kabak n Fabinho at the back, i am pretty sure with vvd n matip + 1 one man advantage they would still keep pressing. 

Once we broke pool press, you have two option keep it high and get your defense some rest so they can regroup and then attack or go for the kill.  Remembered we broke forward mostly with Alonso and Kovacic (once in final 3rd Kovacic is just useless though) not Hazard. 

For me it is simple, Lukaku played well. Can/should he do more? Absolutely.

Poor?  If you think vvd is scrub then yes otherwise nope.

I have said before if opp play high line, werner should be the one of the 1st player on team sheet. If we started with werner over Havertz/Lukaku that is good but once we are down to 10 man, nope (maybe if Ziyech is playing it make sense with his long ball) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Bob stark

[big blue]

Werner would've worked harder to close down Liverpool, but we wouldve struggled to get up the pitch even more, as there is no way he is holding the ball up, and even his pace in behind isnt much of an advantage against Van Dijk and Matip. 

 

[weetee]

Lukaku having zero clearances doesn't tell the whole story though. Who knows, maybe his presence alone made Liverpool players trying to cross to another area..or like the situation with our goal where a lot of defenders tried to secure Rom but that gave a lot of space for others. If Havertz' header wouldn't have gone in by itself there was plenty of space for Azpi (I think) to score since most of the defenders covered the center (where Lukaku was).

 

I agree though that a Werner / Lukaku combination sounds very promising, in theory at least.

 

 

[abister1]

On 28/08/2021 at 20:35, Bob stark said:

Or when Kante should passed to Lukaku that was clear though on goal instead to Havertz. 

Or when Mount should have passed nstead of taking shot. 

Mount was awful. Kante was also very2 bad. 

Yeah. I wonder why Mount isn't being criticised for his awful decision making rather than Lukaku. Lukaku played the ball out wide to him and he should have pulled it back for Havertz (on a plate) but took a shot he scoffed anyway. Even if that wasn't a scoffed shot, a cut back pass was the better option as Havertz would have tapped in to an empty goal. 

Two or three opportunities in the game would have been buried if the right passing lanes had been chosen. I said this last season even during Lampard's tenure. We need our mids to see the game better than they currently do, we create chances but great chances get turned into half chances, because they make wrong choices. 

The 2nd half tactic was all about defending which was right choice becuase pool on a normal day 11 v 11 can run rings around any team and we certainly wouldn't have stood a chance if we didn't opt for that system. 

Lukaku wasn't very effective not because of his play but others around him, the team never played to his strengths ie direct long balls over the Liverpool press or put him on the run down the sides to stretch pool defenders legs a bit. Not sure if it was instructions but they tried to play the ball out of defence and lost it a lot of times, all credit due Liverpool's great pressing but in such situations the goal we should have scored on the break, was created by Lukaku after outsmarting VVD.

If that ball was laid on to Mount or Alonso rather than Kovacic, then we would have had a smash and grab win, with the winner assisted by Lukaku. 

I think we are being unfairly critical of him here. 

[ashwin]

20 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Nah, making wrong pass is normal. If you continue to do it again and again then you are ross barkley or Willian. We watch game from birds eye view, it is very easy to spot where is the runner, where is the space, who is offside etc2. What player see on the field is very different. 

Tuchel won't be worried about this at all. The more our front 3 play together, the better their understanding will be

 

 

True.

Overall, we do seem to make that final pass for a tap in less than some of the best clubs. Certainly scope for improvement. But there's no doubt there will always be such situations.

[Bob stark]

15 hours ago, abister1 said:

Yeah. I wonder why Mount isn't being criticised for his awful decision making rather than Lukaku. Lukaku played the ball out wide to him and he should have pulled it back for Havertz (on a plate) but took a shot he scoffed anyway. Even if that wasn't a scoffed shot, a cut back pass was the better option as Havertz would have tapped in to an empty goal. 

Two or three opportunities in the game would have been buried if the right passing lanes had been chosen. I said this last season even during Lampard's tenure. We need our mids to see the game better than they currently do, we create chances but great chances get turned into half chances, because they make wrong choices. 

The 2nd half tactic was all about defending which was right choice becuase pool on a normal day 11 v 11 can run rings around any team and we certainly wouldn't have stood a chance if we didn't opt for that system. 

Lukaku wasn't very effective not because of his play but others around him, the team never played to his strengths ie direct long balls over the Liverpool press or put him on the run down the sides to stretch pool defenders legs a bit. Not sure if it was instructions but they tried to play the ball out of defence and lost it a lot of times, all credit due Liverpool's great pressing but in such situations the goal we should have scored on the break, was created by Lukaku after outsmarting VVD.

If that ball was laid on to Mount or Alonso rather than Kovacic, then we would have had a smash and grab win, with the winner assisted by Lukaku. 

I think we are being unfairly critical of him here. 

My point is simple, you don't want to use one bad decision to judge player. 

[Deino]

20 hours ago, abister1 said:

Yeah. I wonder why Mount isn't being criticised for his awful decision making rather than Lukaku. Lukaku played the ball out wide to him and he should have pulled it back for Havertz (on a plate) but took a shot he scoffed anyway. Even if that wasn't a scoffed shot, a cut back pass was the better option as Havertz would have tapped in to an empty goal. 

Two or three opportunities in the game would have been buried if the right passing lanes had been chosen. I said this last season even during Lampard's tenure. We need our mids to see the game better than they currently do, we create chances but great chances get turned into half chances, because they make wrong choices. 

The 2nd half tactic was all about defending which was right choice becuase pool on a normal day 11 v 11 can run rings around any team and we certainly wouldn't have stood a chance if we didn't opt for that system. 

Lukaku wasn't very effective not because of his play but others around him, the team never played to his strengths ie direct long balls over the Liverpool press or put him on the run down the sides to stretch pool defenders legs a bit. Not sure if it was instructions but they tried to play the ball out of defence and lost it a lot of times, all credit due Liverpool's great pressing but in such situations the goal we should have scored on the break, was created by Lukaku after outsmarting VVD.

If that ball was laid on to Mount or Alonso rather than Kovacic, then we would have had a smash and grab win, with the winner assisted by Lukaku. 

I think we are being unfairly critical of him here. 

It's Lukaku's 2nd game. The lack of chemistry is so clear. It will take time for them to know how each other moves

[BluesPower]

He's looking more and more comfortable / dangerous playing with his back to the goal.  Poor Estonia defenders had less chance than even Arsenal.  They might have to add some sort of 3 seconds in the key (box) rule like the NBA to slow him down if he keeps getting better shielding defenders. 

[icecoolguy22]

Too good on for the defenders this game, we could afford to play a lot more direct with him holding up defenders in the box. Just play it to his feet, let him roll defenders off for a shot or pass around the corner.

[LongtimerLurker]

Again his performances for Belgium looked top tier I almost forgot that he had returned home. He's improved so much I hope he can fire us to the prem!

[Deino]

He needs to do more turn and shoots for us. Must have been tough with Matip and Van Dijk on you but I hope he can do it against the rest of the PL

[charierre]

Romero gets his 67th goal in his 100th appearance. That’s phenomenal 

https://sportsinformer.co.uk/2021/09/05/video-chelsea-striker-romelu-lukaku-scores-with-typically-ruthless-finish-on-his-100th-appearance-for-belgium-2/

[Amputechture]

50 goals in his last 50 apps for Belgium.

[comtrend]

Martinez probably going to have Lukaku play all 3 Belgium games for almost 90 minutes, hate that guy. Could have subbed him off after 3-0 at 65 min today.

[True Blue23]

He got a yellow card and is suspended for Belgium's next match.

[axman2526]

4 hours ago, charierre said:

Romero gets his 67th goal in his 100th appearance. That’s phenomenal 

https://sportsinformer.co.uk/2021/09/05/video-chelsea-striker-romelu-lukaku-scores-with-typically-ruthless-finish-on-his-100th-appearance-for-belgium-2/

Huh look at that, nice through ball and bang, goal. I have no doubts he would have done the same to Allison had Kante or Havertz put him through...

 

52 minutes ago, True Blue23 said:

He got a yellow card and is suspended for Belgium's next match.

Hopefully he requests his release then and returns to Cobham ASAP. No point in him staying there.