More excuses from Thomas Tuchel as Romelu Lukaku touches the ball just SEVEN times in 90 minutes
Chelsea boss says his side are a 'bit drained, a bit exhausted' after they scraped past Crystal Palace 1-0, while £97m striker was 'obviously not involved'.
It was Lukaku's anonymous display which made headlines with the forward having only seven touches at Selhurst Park, the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player who played 90 minutes since Opta started collecting data back in the 2003/04 season.
Tuchel admitted Lukaku's lack of touches showed he was "obviously not involved" but insisted everybody is giving their best.
After beating Palmeiras to become world champions, Chelsea had a full week to get ready for the trip across the capital but Tuchel pointed out preparation was far from normal.
7 - Romelu Lukaku had just seven touches against Crystal Palace, the fewest in a single Premier League game for a player with 90+ minutes played since this data is available in full for the competition (2003-04). One of those touches was from kick-off in the first half. Quiet.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 19, 2022