Lukaku’s complaints ring hollow after coming up short again for Chelsea

Little wonder that Thomas Tuchel was unwilling to spare his £97.5m striker after Man City defeat

Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku (right) skips away from Manchester City's John Stones during the Premier League match at Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture. Martin Rickett/PA Wire 

Come at the king, you’d best not miss. But Romelu Lukaku did, twice. First before half-time when, on the charge and with the ball on his stronger left foot, he opted, bafflingly, to try to lay in Hakim Ziyech, who was offside even if the pass had been accurate; and then in the second half when, laid through by Mateo Kovacic, he opened his body to try to curl an effort round Ederson, only to find that the keeper had read his barely disguised intentions and was diving to make a save that was far more comfortable than it ought to have been.

And that’s the problem when you’ve recently given a television interview questioning the formation, especially when the team you’ve joined are European champions: it places scrutiny on your own performance that isn’t tremendously helpful. Little wonder that Thomas Tuchel was unwilling to spare his £97.5m striker afterwards. Was Lukaku the only reason Chelsea lost to Manchester City on Saturday? Clearly not but, for all City appeared dominant, that game was not that far from following the pattern of last season’s Champions League final or FA Cup semi-final between the sides: City with lots of the ball but unable to break down a well-organised Chelsea and undone on the counterattack.