Improved by Conte, Lukaku goes from kid to top man at Chelsea

Till the fifth matchday of the season, some of the favourites to win the Premier League used wide players in central roles. It was only partly by choice. Manchester City played Ferran Torres there because Harry Kane hadn’t moved. Spurs used Son Heung-min because Kane might move. Mason Greenwood was Manchester United’s focal point against Leeds United and in the second half at Southampton because Edinson Cavani wasn’t ready. Even Liverpool, who play three in front, have started with left winger Diogo Jota in a central role.

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Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea hadn’t done that. Against Crystal Palace they went with Timo Werner as frontman. At Arsenal on Sunday evening, Tuchel unleashed Romelu Lukaku. In 15 minutes, Lukaku showed what a No.9 on top of his game can do.

Lukaku’s opener, his first-ever Chelsea goal and 114th in the Premier League, encapsulated strength, accuracy of pass and more strength with Pablo Mari crumbling as the striker moved up to receive the pass from Reece James and score. At home, Mari and Rob Holding, Arsenal’s central defenders, found out why Lukaku had been called a “beast” by Chelsea teammate Antonio Rudiger.

Lukaku’s reputation contributed to the second goal. The big Belgian ran towards Marcos Alonso’s pass but as Granit Xhaka failed to intercept and Lukaku was about to sell a dummy, left-back Keiran Tierney turned inwards. With Bukayo Saka not tracking back, Tierney had to choose between going wide for James or trying to snuff out the danger in front. He could do neither.

Lukaku had eight shots, two on target and 11 touches in the rival penalty box, according to the Twitter handle @SkySportsStatto. No one on the pitch had as many. @OptaJoe said Lukaku’s xG (expected goals, the probability of goals from a scoring opportunity) was 1.41, the highest in the Premier League so far. It’s only one game but references to how Didier Drogba, Lukaku’s idol and former Chelsea teammate, would torment Arsenal’s defence have been trotted out.

“He gives something to our game that we did not have so much,” said Tuchel. The Chelsea manager was referring to not only goals and how it could improve on the woeful 58 Chelsea scored last term in the league—ninth-placed Leeds United had 62—but also that Lukaku’s ability to protect the ball and his pace gives Chelsea the option to play long balls.

Lukaku is 28 and a different version of the player who left Chelsea frustrated after making one start in 15 appearances in three seasons. He scored regularly at West Brom, Everton and Manchester United but never could never settle down. Despite 42 goals and 13 assists in 96 games for United, Lukaku was sold to Inter Milan.

Speed, intelligence and the ability to move in from the right he always had. All three helped Belgium rescue the 2018 World Cup round-of-16 tie against Japan where Lukaku’s strong run dragged a defender out of position before his dummy freed Nacer Chadli to score the winner. What Antonio Conte did at Inter was improve his back-to-the-goal play. Lukaku was told he would be dropped if he didn’t, the 74 million price tag meaning nothing to the maverick Italian coach. He worked hard to improve that. “Once I mastered that aspect then everything became easier,” Lukaku has said.

At Inter, Lukaku got 34 goals in 51 games in 2019-20, 30 in 44 games in 2020-21. There were goals from his favoured left foot but many with his right foot too meaning that in a league known for tight defence, defenders didn’t know which way he would go. And because his hold-up play improved, he was providing more assists; there were 11 last term. Statistics from smarterscout used by The Athletic shows that Lukaku is taking more shots, receiving more balls in the penalty area, carrying and dribbling more and making more passes upfield. “In these two years, his presence in the match, his teamwork and clarity in front of goal has improved,” Conte told L’Equipe.

“At Chelsea, he was still a kid. At United he was still developing. At Inter he became a top man," Jose Mourinho had told The Times, London.

“When people spoke of the best, they always used to mention Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, or Karim Benzema. They used to say I was ‘in form.’ That motivated me to work harder. I think I now have a place on that list,” Lukaku said after being chosen in Euro2020 Team of the tournament.

But Tuchel would know that to make a serious push for the title, Lukaku’s goals may not be enough. In 2016-17, Diego Costa, another lethal No.9, had not only scored 20 and made seven assists but helped most in the Chelsea team improve their xG. Chelsea won the league scoring 85 goals. They will hope that by drawing attention on himself, Lukaku, a 97.5 million pound investment, has similar influence on Kai Havertz and Mason Mount and maybe even get Werner to succeed as a second striker.

“He linked up very well with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz,” said Tuchel after the 2-0 win that came five days of training together. Up next are Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool.

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