He fell over his own feet today, the ball bounced off him and he miss hit some pretty basic passes. You mustn't have been looking.
Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea
- Thread starter RDCR07
- Start date
10 man Chelsea are lumping the ball to him with no support, he was 3v1 or 2v1 on every long ball thrown his way, and you think he's not going to lose any duels and hold the ball up every time? There's not a striker on the planet who would consistently keep the ball under those circumstances.
There were many good examples of hold up player and lay offs throughout the game, which you've ignored.
Good goals both of them, but he does not really dribble anyone there. He runs towards a backing defense and shoots from outside the box in both cases.Heskey ffs
See his two goals here from 6.50 and tell me he can't dribble. To do that at pace and finish isn't easy, very few strikers can do that.
Lukaku is a good goal scorer, but hes not a good dribbler
C'Mon now, for all his flaws he is still one of the best pure goalscorers around, though how truly valuable that is can be debatable, more like this generations Mario Gomez/Mario Jardel, guys who ended up with fantastic numbers but were not elite players despite the record.
Was Bale not a good dribbler? Dribbling isn't just twisting and turning people, if you have the pace and strength to run with the ball, you can dribble that way too. The reason no one gets close is because he doesn't let anyone do so. Can you imagine Cavani or Kane trying to go at that pace? They'd have 4 man surrounding them before they get to the box.
I mean, did anyone who followed Lukaku's career at United see anything different today from a few years ago? Apart from a desire to prove himself it was largely more of the same to be honest.
I thought he was good considering the 10 men things. I hated watching Lukaku play for us. Still glad he is gone but he has improved.
All the way down to his infamous thumbs up… it was a carbon copy of his United days.
In the second half it was more akin to his time at United because there was no one else around him. Conte made major strides in improving his back-to-goal game, but a big part of that is having other mobile attackers in close proximity. We played 5-3-1 in the second half - literally any striker in the history of football would struggle in that setup.
Didn't do much before the sending off, did feck all after.
I see nothing to suggest he's improved as a player, and why would I? The things that he struggles with, that keep him from becoming an elite player, are things you should have down by 18, like a basic first touch. He's not suddenly going to develop control in Italy is he?
At £97mil, Chelsea have been robbed and someone is gonna have some explaining to do.
I see nothing to suggest he's improved as a player, and why would I? The things that he struggles with, that keep him from becoming an elite player, are things you should have down by 18, like a basic first touch. He's not suddenly going to develop control in Italy is he?
At £97mil, Chelsea have been robbed and someone is gonna have some explaining to do.
I saw nothing to justify the amount they spent on him. His receiving of the ball with his back to goal has improved a bit otherwise it was same old. The fact that he bullied the Arsenal defence was underlined today at City; they are a totally weak side and he will take advantage of shit defences
This thread will be worse than the Messi v Ronaldo one. Everytime he scores, some will go in gloating about how he’s one of the best etc and when he inevitably frustrates in big fixtures, another bunch will come in and say he’s worse than Heskey, Darren Bent etc. Then he will have one really good game vs a top 6 team and both sides will snipe at each other for 5 pages.
Yes? Especially Kane must have scored about 20 of that kind of goal in the PL. Cavani is more of a fox in the box type, but pretty much every top striker worth his salt can do that when hes running 3v3(2v2) against a backing defense
Standard Lukaku, but looked a little better at receiving it with his back to goal.
But the usual comedy stuff like stepping on the ball or tackling himself was there.
But the usual comedy stuff like stepping on the ball or tackling himself was there.
I never really watched him at Inter and everyone was going wild about how he's a new and improved Lukaku that has come to Chelsea now.
Do I see anything different than what I saw of him at United? - Honestly, not really from the two Chelsea games
Will he score a decent number of goals for Chelsea (15-20 league goals)? - Yes, he will
Do I see anything different than what I saw of him at United? - Honestly, not really from the two Chelsea games
Will he score a decent number of goals for Chelsea (15-20 league goals)? - Yes, he will
The only thing that’s changed about Lukaku is the narrative around him. Just like he wasn’t really a flop with us, he also isn’t suddenly elite now, he just seems to attract weird extreme narratives from pundits and fans depending on how a season is going for him…
Someone like van Persie was really excellent in that situation, no-one around him, aimless balls, but he’d bring it under control and find players with really incisive passes.
It’s just something that Lukaku is completely incapable of. The only thing you can rely on him for on those situations is lots of complaints, and ultimately a lack of attacking inspiration. The lads behind him are working their bollocks off and all he can do is point and moan. He’s a good player but there’s no harm in recognising his flaws.
Heskey ffs
See his two goals here from 6.50 and tell me he can't dribble. To do that at pace and finish isn't easy, very few strikers can do that.
Go on YouTube and see Heskeys best goals for Liverpool. Is Heskey now worth 97.5million? Of course he isn’t, two goals don’t make a striker. He’s capable of good moments no ones doubting that, but he’s not a 30 goal pl striker his career proves it.
Certainly I'd not argue Lukaku is better than RVP. At the same time, I don't think it's fair to say that Lukaku was missing players with incisive passes in the second half as there was no one around him. I do think it's completely correct to say that he missed a huge chance in the first half to play Havertz in when he went for Mount instead, and by that same token Havertz missed a chance to play Lukaku in as well.
I also don't necessarily think RVP was better with his back to goal than the current iteration of Lukaku - my recollection of RVP is that he was far more clever with his movements and far better at making decisions quickly especially when facing up an opposition defender.
Final point is that I think Lukaku being left up top isolated was a deliberate tactic by Tuchel and not necessarily reflective of his contribution - him staying high essentially meant that VVD and Matip were unable to step as far forward as they might have liked. Given the context of being down to 10 men and the quality of the opposition, I don't think Lukaku did all that poorly to set up the Kovacic chance and to have a go with the scissor kick.
I agree that the second half might not be the best game to judge him on, but he played exactly like how he played for us.
I have no doubt he'll bang in goals against a lot of teams. That Chelsea side looks really good and he'll get a lot of chances. But I doubt he'll make a huge impact in the big games.
I have no doubt he'll bang in goals against a lot of teams. That Chelsea side looks really good and he'll get a lot of chances. But I doubt he'll make a huge impact in the big games.
who would you rather have?
Lukaku or Ronaldo?
nuff said.
Lukaku or Ronaldo?
nuff said.
Nah if you watch van Persie in games like City or Madrid you'll see he took all kinds of hopeless aerial balls and, despite being much smaller and weaker than Lukaku, he made really great use of it. It wasn't something he had in his younger days but once he hit that peak in his last season at Arsenal, he was really exceptional with his back to goal. Certainly his movement helped but he used his body really well, had great awareness of space, and with that brilliant first touch he was such a reliable outlet. Similar for Ruud. It is true that a lot of strikers would struggle in that situation, it favours the defenders massively. That's what makes the elite ones really stand out. Kane's brilliant at it too now, same for Lewandowski. Lukaku is better than them on the counter but as that lone striker in difficult circumstances, he's not going to drag you through games. Tuchel accepted playing with 9 men because there's nothing you can do about it, that's how Lukaku is when he's isolated.
Spending that kind of money on Lukaku 
I don’t miss his pointing and throwing his hands up in the air when his teammates are on a different wavelength. Maybe look at yourself and move.
He would be so frustrating to play with, personally speaking. You’re completely right in saying that he offers no inspiration. I noticed that he fell on the ground today, in the second half, and he just lay there for about 15 seconds while Liverpool were off counter attacking. He then proceeded to jog back while the rest of the team were working their bollocks off. Its frustrating to watch if you’re fan, and it would be infuriating if you’re on the same team. One could be forgiven, if they’re producing nearly a goal a game but he’s nowhere near that quality.
Why do people keep comparing him to Heskey? Heskey was an excellent hold up forward who would bring others into play. His weakness was his ability to get into goal scoring positions and finish. Lukaku is exactly the opposite. He is a pure finisher who generally offers very little to the team build up.
He was absolutely shocking today and would have been hauled off if they hadn’t just paid £100m for him. Werner would have been much more useful for them in the second half as he would have provided an outlet. This isn’t why they purchased him though - he will rack up goals against the smaller sides which could well make the difference at the end of the season.
He was absolutely shocking today and would have been hauled off if they hadn’t just paid £100m for him. Werner would have been much more useful for them in the second half as he would have provided an outlet. This isn’t why they purchased him though - he will rack up goals against the smaller sides which could well make the difference at the end of the season.
Away at Anfield, playing with 10 men. Why struggle with the mental gymnastics to justify he's shit?
He was decent in the first half, bullied Matip a couple of times and got the better of VVD once in a dangerous situation as well. He'll do fine for them.
He was decent in the first half, bullied Matip a couple of times and got the better of VVD once in a dangerous situation as well. He'll do fine for them.
Just no elegance whatsoever.
From near the half way line at that pace? They can make space in the box or from just outside the box, but definitely at that pace. Link me the 20 then because that's not true at all. I think you're seriously underrating how fast he's going. The defenders are all sprinting without the ball and can't keep up with him. If Cavani can do that then we've basically got a hidden Ronaldo on our hands.
Pretty sure they brought him in to score 20-25 goals against the weaker sides in the league anyway. Anything else against their rivals is a bonus.
Could have had a couple today if Havertz/Mount had played him in instead of going for shots.
I must be blind because I thought he was decent for the limited number of times he got the ball. His hold up play is basic but I don’t think it makes him this liability that some claim.
I'm one of his biggest critics but thought he was good in the first half.
Absolutely should not have played the 90 though, the situation we faced in the second half doesn't suit him, Werner would have been a better fit with his pressing and running in behind.
Typical Lukaku performance vs a big Prem team.
Some good, some bad, but I'll be surprised if he was impactful vs the big 6(or 5 since Arsenal are shambles now).
I just don't think he's improved as much as people were saying he has.
He's definitely a better player than the one that left United, but he was awful that season.
Some good, some bad, but I'll be surprised if he was impactful vs the big 6(or 5 since Arsenal are shambles now).
I just don't think he's improved as much as people were saying he has.
He's definitely a better player than the one that left United, but he was awful that season.
He was good today, Chelsea just need to make that extra pass in the final third. He’ll get 20 goals this season
Thought he was awful.
There's a shock!
Looked just as awful today as he was 3 years ago.
Ultimate flat track bully, and one of the best 9’s in the world due to that fact. Poundland Andy Cole.
Will score boatloads this year.
Will score boatloads this year.