Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said it’s “a bit strange” that Romelu Lukaku hasn’t been starting for Chelsea recently.
Spanish giants Madrid have touched down in London ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday night against Chelsea.
It’s a repeat of last season’s semi-finals, which the Blues won en route to lifting the European trophy for the second time in their history.
Click here for The Chelsea Chronicle’s predicted Blues line-up for the Champions League showdown.
Madrid goalkeeper and ex-Chelsea star Courtois has made an interesting comment about Lukaku ahead of tonight’s match.
He’s expressed his surprise that the 28-year-old striker, who he plays with for Belgium at international level, hasn’t been starting much recently. He does still have confidence Lukaku can win over Blues manager Thomas Tuchel, though.
“Romelu is a really great striker. It’s a bit strange to see him not play so much lately, but he’s a guy with enormous quality. He finds the goal really easily. Obviously there’s other great strikers at Chelsea so I understand it’s not always easy and if the team keeps winning, the manager keeps playing the same players. But I’m sure he will go through it,” Courtois said.
“Sometimes you just need a little adaptation. I had the same in Madrid, the first year wasn’t easy. You change tactics, you change team, you change trainers so you need to adapt again to everything and I’m sure he will be good, but I hope it is not tomorrow. He can wait one more week!”
Lukaku needs bigger Chelsea impact
With Kai Havertz in such excellent form as Chelsea’s striker, Lukaku has to do more when he gets minutes off the bench.
Lukaku has not been consistently starting games during the past month like he would have liked, but he needs to show more as a substitute when Tuchel does put him on the pitch.
He’s a natural goalscorer capable of injecting something extra into an attack that does struggle to score at times.
It’s a surprise to most that the Belgian frontman has found himself out of the XI during the business end of the season. However, the player himself must remain professional and be eager to prove himself.
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