Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has stated that now is "not the time to laugh" about Romelu Lukaku after his side's forward set a new record by managing seven touches against Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League encounter. The German coach made the proclamation ahead of the Blues' Champions League Round of 16 clash with Lille scheduled for Tuesday.
Since joining the European champions from Inter Milan last summer, Romelu Lukaku has struggled to hit the ground running, scoring only five goals in 17 Premier League appearance. On Saturday, he hit a new low by recording just seven touches in 90 minutes as his side cruised to a last gasp 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. The statistic fired the Belgian striker to set a new league record for the fewest touches from a player who has featured in a full 90 minute game since Opta started recording data in the 2003-04 season.
In wake of the underwhelming development, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has fired back critics, citing that the player is not the first striker to struggle at Stamford Bridge. Quizzed on how he can get Lukaku to be involved more and make more touches, he said: "What can I do? I don't know. We have to deal with it.
"The data is out there and the data speaks a certain language. He was not involved in our game, it's sometimes like this with strikers. If they struggle a bit with self-confidence, to find the space and to get involved against a good defensive side, it can be like this.
"It's not what we want or Romelu wants, but it's also not the time to laugh about him and make jokes about him. He's in the spotlight but we will protect him.
"There is a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea so it may not be the easiest place in the world for strikers. I don't know why it's like this," Tuchel added.
"In my opinion, Chelsea are a team considered a strong defensive team, a physical team, that has a certain attitude when in competitive football.
"We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of defending. We want to be a physical, hard-working group that wants to play a physical game and a skilful game. That maybe plays a part.
"We are on the subject and are well aware, but like always in football, it's not just one reason to sort a problem. It's a complex sport and we will try to continue to play with faith, with a team effort."
