After returning to Stamford Bridge, the Belgian striker scored in his second debut for Chelsea against Arsenal in the weekend.
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Chelsea’s impressive start to the new season keeps getting better. With a comfortable 2-0 victory against Arsenal, the Blues have made it two wins from two games in the Premier League. They have also won the UEFA Super Cup recently. On Sunday, new signing Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in his second debut with the Blues. The Belgian striker was a handful for Arsenal defenders to deal with as he helped Chelsea walk away with all three points from the Emirates stadium. He seemed to be final piece of the puzzle missing from the Blues squad. With exactly a week to go before the summer transfer window closes, manager Thomas Tuchel has declared himself happy with both the size and quality of his Chelsea squad.
Tuchel has assured that he is more than content with the options currently available to him. “I’m absolutely happy with our squad and the alternatives we have,” Thomas Tuchel was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “It’s not too big a squad so when we were missing Christian Pulisic against Arsenal, it meant that everybody else was straight in, with 18 outfielders plus the goalkeepers.
“It means we have not the biggest squad but we have a very competitive squad in all positions and that is necessary because we play a lot of competitions this season. We have the Club World Cup coming up in December and we have a pretty unique situation where we played very long in the Euros and Copa America so if we want to compete we need this kind of level.”
The German manager also spoke about the team’s spirit within the dressing room, citing it as a major factor in the Champions League triumph last term. “It’s also about building a strong group because this was maybe the key in the last half a year, that we played with a strong bond and a great team spirit,” he explained.
“This will be the challenge for me and for the team that we create this atmosphere again and that everybody is ready to take hard decisions and to keep pushing the team. If we do this, we can achieve more than if we don’t.”
Thomas Tuchel was particularly delighted with Lukaku’s display against Arsenal and praised the different dimension he provides to the team’s attack. “His profile gives us something that we did not have so much,” he added. “He has some depth in his game, he can help overcome pressing with long balls and get close to the box, but we can also play into him when there are defenders in his back because he’s a very physical player.
“We still don’t lose our strength from counter-attacks because he likes to run into open spaces. He was always involved and that was very good to see. I certainly think that nobody likes to play against him. Everybody is aware of his physicality but also of his link-up play and qualities to attack the space so he gives another dimension to our game. Now it’s our job not to lose our other strengths, which is the work-rate and team effort with intensity against the ball. We have to bring everything together.”
“It’s not only about the qualities and skills from Romelu,” added Tuchel. “It’s the package that made him so promising for us – the age, experience, that he’s a Chelsea fan and he was always a Chelsea fan whose dream was to make it at this club. This is what we have felt from day one with his personality. He’s played for big clubs before and I hope that it takes pressure off the shoulders of our young guys. It’s not the time now for too much praise or celebration. We just have to keep on going.”
