Chelsea vs Zenit: Three lessons learnt in Champions League opener
3. Romelu Lukaku delivers yet again
Tuchel had his mind set on a striker from the very beginning of the transfer window. The German gaffer had figured out that his fellow countrymen playing striker in his team were not enough and he need some reinforcements. £97.5 million later, Romelu Lukaku rejoined Chelsea from Inter Milan. It seemed like an absolute fairy tale for the Belgian superstar when the Blues bid for him. Lukaku has stated that he would have never left Inter Milan had it not been Chelsea. The Italian club turned him into a world beater once again, and now he has managed to score his first Champions League goal for the Blues.
His second coming has been nothing short of spectacular. The clinical striker has shown the London side exactly what it was missing: a robust, strong and physical center forward who will always play as a target man. Timo Werner always used to play in a more free role, but Lukaku is only present to score the goals. On Tuesday, his game was a bit off probably because he came back from an international break last week, played a full match against Aston Villa on the weekend (where he scored two goals) and now started against Zenit. Lukaku may be a beast in terms of physicality and scoring, however, he is still a human. Tuesday was not his best game, yet he still managed to make an impact.
Chelsea was dominating possession as usual. However, the Blues were struggling to get the ball into the final third. The Zenit defense was well-organized and it was determined not to let the star No. 9 stay on the ball for long. Although Chelsea made a lot of plays down the wings, it was unable to get Lukaku involved too many times. Nevertheless, in the 69′ Cesar Azpilicueta put in a brilliant, textbook cross into the box and Lukaku—like the world class striker he is—rose above all and headed the ball into the back of the net. Although he was not in his best form, he knew he had to help his team out and scored the crucial winning goal.