Lukaku, the blue board / England / Chelsea / SOFOOT.com

From a purely accounting point of view, Romelu Lukaku has always done the job. When he arrives in the middle of August 2019 on the lawns of the Pinetina training center in Milan, Antonio Conte is perfectly aware of it and has no desire to talk to him about numbers. No need. What the Italian coach wants is to speak with his Belgian striker and give him a clear warning: « Romelu, with me, you have to have a strong back to the goal, otherwise you won’t play. »  » The Inter coach firmly believes that once this milestone, Lukaku will become untouchable. To make him grow in this direction, he installed him for three months against a machine designed for goalkeepers and back to a direct opponent (Andrea Ranocchia or Stefan de Vrij). At each of these specific sessions, the number 9 of the Red Devils then sees the device send him balloons at 30 or 40 km / h and must get used to controlling, keeping his opponent at a distance, then pulling back towards his midfield. . “After three months, I clicked and I said to myself: « It’s good. Now, with your back to the goal, I think it’s dead for everyone, » « laughed the person in an interview given to RTBF before the last Euro. Difficult today to prove him wrong: if Romelu Lukaku is above all a lover of « Verticality » and deep races, his two seasons at Inter with Conte have taken him from being a space player to that of a total striker, able to adapt to all phases of the game and to especially use his template to protect his ball like no one else and thus push back any defense. From now on, the Belgian simply knows how to do everything: score (64 times in 95 games played with Inter), serve (16 assists over the same period), create chances, dribble (second best dribbler in the workforce of the Inter behind Nicolò Barella last season), push back, advance … That’s what he said to France Football few months ago : “I think almost everyone now perceives my game intelligence. That people are realizing that I’m thinking when I’m playing, that I’m trying to sync up with the rest of the team, it’s cool. In Milan, everyone understood that and now people know: if you put me in a team, I’ll do the job.  »

The king of protection

After a good Euro on a personal level, new proof last weekend: for his comeback in the Chelsea shirt and his first Premier League match with the Blues since August 2013, Romelu Lukaku has done a good job. Very well even. Against Arsenal, Big Rom even needed only fourteen minutes to show England football how far he had evolved since his departure from Manchester United in the spring of 2019. Leaving the lawn of the Emirates Stadium , when asked to qualify his performance, Thomas Tuchel’s new weapon replied « Dominant » and it is difficult to find a better qualifier as Lukaku played with his victim of the day – Pablo Marí – like a ten year old child would do for hours with a yo-yo. Sunday, the Belgian striker may have touched only 43 balls – less than any other player who started Chelsea, including Édouard Mendy -, all of them helped to drop one by one the cards placed on the table by Mikel Arteta. Some figures: Lukaku shot eight times, on target twice, scored once, missed only one of his passes (out of 20 attempted – no misses in the opposing camp in passing), managed two dribbles, won 57% of his aerial duels and suffered two fouls. Beyond that, he was especially the priority target of all the circuits of the 3-4-2-1 of a Tuchel who underlined « The binder » brought by his new royal pivot.

To understand the damage caused to Gunners by Romelu Lukaku, we must first come back to the structure of Chelsea, whose strengths had been described last season by Pep Guardiola a few days before the final of the Champions League: “They play with three central defenders and two midfielders … And the distances between them are so close. At the same time, with the laterals, their structure is so wide and they have so much depth with Timo Werner moving behind. They push you to the side, they press you, they have good players in the middle … that’s why it’s a very difficult team to face.  » Arteta can attest to this, his Arsenal having also been transformed into chewing gum.

Against Arsenal, we found Tuchel’s 3-4-2-1. To counter him, Arteta presented himself with a 4-2-3-1 which was quickly overtaken numerically in the heart of the game, either because Emile Smith Rowe found himself alone against Kovačić and Jorginho, or because Havertz is came to win in sequences, either because when Xhaka or Lokonga came to help their young playmaker, Havertz or Mount could be touched in their back … Chelsea have always found a parry thanks to their structure with the ball and the absence of Arsenal’s defensive coordination.

Defensively abused by Brentford on Matchday 1, Arsenal again exploded without a ball against the Blues. Romelu Lukaku then only had to press on the open faults and play with Arteta’s defensive line, digitally eaten across the board (5 against 4) – in the manner of Portugal against Germany in the ‘Euro – as the first goal demonstrated.

Found full axis by Rüdiger, Kovačić has time to arm on a step and can find Lukaku …

… as soon as the ball is taken, Lukaku controls the distance with Pablo Marí thanks to the inclination of his body and a ball placed under the sole. In this position, the Belgian is untouchable and can procrastinate while Tierney has been attracted to Mount …

… after gaining time, Kovavic can be found facing the game …

… Reece James, freed by the movement, can then be thrown right side while Lukaku prepares to trigger his call …


… in his call, Lukaku drops Pablo Marí on the shoulder and only has to finish in the empty goal.

While he was hoping that his new recruit, also involved on the second base (an action again completed on the right side with James, constantly put into orbit on Sunday), either the « Missing piece » to make his European champion Chelsea climb even more height, Thomas Tuchel did not hide his satisfaction after the first exit of his pivot, well helped anyway by a Pablo Mari who often defended backwards ( the Spanish central let Romelu Lukaku turn to his left foot on the majority of sequences): “Lukaku’s profile is something we haven’t really had so far. He brings depth to our game, helps us breathe in the face of the opposing pressing … When we approach the surface, we can find him with his back to the goal and with him, we do not lose our strength against attack.  »

From his first ball catch against Pablo Mari, the tone was set by Lukaku, who uses his arm well to keep a distance with his direct opponent …

… and be able, as Conte taught him, to find its creators (either Mount or Havertz) behind.

These situations were visible throughout the meeting …

Three other sequences can be drawn as a symbol of Lukaku’s meeting:

First sequence: found for the umpteenth time with his back to the game, Lukaku tilts his body again to give himself time and space to bring the block back up …

… after escaping from Pablo Mari, he will pass in front of Xhaka …

… before getting ahead of Tierney to find James inside.

Second sequence: new Mori-Lukaku duel, but the second oriented the physical confrontation so as to be able to get back on his left foot …

… he will then take over the shoulder …

… and be able to launch Mount perfectly into space.

Third sequence, at the end of the match where, on the board, Lukaku will find James facing the game so that he can throw Ziyech into open space in the back of the Belgian striker.

After walking around for his return, Romelu Lukaku, more complete than Werner, but who could mount a burning alliance with the German, will pass, on Sunday, the ultimate test for an attacker in 2021: face Virgil van Dijk. This duel will undoubtedly be an event at the start of the season and a good time for Thomas Tuchel to gauge the power of his new bazooka.

By Maxime Brigand