Jase

I suspect Tuchel will go with the same back 3/5 as today.

That link says otherwise but I don't remember much of the game. In any case, I'm not sure if playing Sarr is gonna work either. He has done okay but at the same time, he feels like a defensive disaster waiting to happen.

I don't think James is even back in full training yet. Would be crazy to just throw him into the XI on Sunday.

We did not. https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1549741/Live/England-Premier-League-2021-2022-Chelsea-Liverpool And the pragmatism in Tuchel also saw him revert to the back 3 tonight against Lille. So, yeah...

That was Palace, this is Liverpool. Tuchel played with the back 4 for much of January except for the games against Liverpool and Man City.

Never mind the fact that Lukaku will be back in the XI, I don't think Tuchel is gonna play with a back 4 here.

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (10-11 on penalties) PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2021/22 Carabao Cup Final 27th February, Sunday 2022 Wembley Stadium 16:30 Kick Off (UK time)

No Lukaku and suddenly we looked less dysfunctional going forward, even if most of the moments came from transitions. But it will be back to the norm on Sunday.

That's precisely why I said we would be stuck in a cycle for many years. Either Tuchel will just start him regardless of what he does OR Lukaku gets the odd goal, papers over the crack and then this whole thing just drags on with no solution in sight. Also, James is nowhere near being back yet and even then, he would need time to find his form. Plus, it's not as if James was regularly supplying Lukaku with crosses either before his injury.

But Lukaku is clearly an issue right now - arguably the biggest elephant in the room and Tuchel has looked no closer to solving the problem. Tuchel has arguably tried everything possible over the last 1-2 months to make it work with Lukaku, changing the formation, the personnel etc, and nothing has worked and Lukaku hasn't shown an ounce of interest to even be bothered. He has done nothing to justify starting the last 10 games but he's clearly only starting on reputation. Other players have been benched for doing a lot more than Lukaku has. And having read Chelsea fans' opinion here and elsewhere, I don't think anyone is gonna criticize Tuchel one bit if he benches Lukaku but he isn't going to do that and we would likely be stuck in this cycle for the next 3-4 years.

Nothing Tuchel said or done has provided any sort of reassurances that he knows what he's doing attacking wise or with Lukaku. It feels like he's just gonna keep starting him and hope something comes off.

Matt Law is such a Lukaku apologist.

The Athletic's sources said that Tuchel did that to piss you off.

And you thought last season was bad/frustrating.

Managers always having a blind spot or two.

We have not been great at servicing our strikers or attackers for years but to have only 7 touches in the game and all the ineffective games that he's had is not good to say the least, especially when he cost us 100 million. I'm sure Tuchel hasn't told him not to move and just stay up there. If he's not getting involved in games, does he not have the brain to maybe at least come deep, get the ball, link up with others a bit and then go the other way or run the channels etc? You know, to try and get involved more? Last season, we spent ages moaning about Werner and whoever else for not taking the chances but now, the complaint is that the striker is not getting the service, which again something we have not been good at doing for years. Why? Our attacking system under Tuchel hasn't been great but at the same time, there's also the problem with this 100 million player and one that Tuchel seems hellbent on playing week in week out to the detriment of the team. It was mostly forced by the injuries but Tuchel has even used many different systems to help Lukaku but the end result has all been the same so far.

Do you not understand the memo, Tomo? Everything has to be done perfectly for a top 3 striker in the world to thrive. EVERYTHING. Anything else is others' fault.

Gary Neville made the same remark late last year/earlier this year. So much for his all talk about being on strict diet, having a nutritionist etc at Inter. Seems like Conte was the one who kept a leash on him (and others perhaps).

City vs Spurs seems to bring out the Spursy in City.

Of course it is...

After the game of course.

If he's going to give excuses, at least find a better one.

We had a week off and Tuchel complained about exhaustion/tiredness and how we shouldn't have expected too much because we played 120 minutes in the Abu Dhabi heat last week (LAST WEEK!). 🤣

Chelsea 2-0 Lille PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2021/22 Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg 22nd February, Tuesday 2022 Stamford Bridge 20:00 Kick Off (UK time)

No, I'm not gonna take that for our season going sideways. It doesn't change the fact that, after 1 year being in charge, Tuchel has not come close to making us having a coherent attack. And by the way, James didn't get injured at the same time as Chilwell. He got injured much later and by then, our form was already going sideways and so was his form. I also said this back then, people who got carried away by our good start to the season clearly have forgotten all the previous seasons. We have started the season well many times over the last decade, only to fall away when November or December comes around. It's more than just injuries.