Romelu Lukaku has come under fire from Chelsea supporters after another lacklustre performance for the Blues.
Lukaku managed just two touches of the ball in the first half of Saturday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
To make matters worse for the Belgian, one of those touches was to kick off the match at Selhurst Park.
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Lukaku continued to struggle after the break but Chelsea were able to find a late winner through Hakim Ziyech, who had a goal disallowed for offside earlier in the half.
Despite the victory, Chelsea supporters were unhappy with Lukaku's contribution.
“What is the point of playing Lukaku every single game when it is evidently clear he’s the problem with our chance creation,” wrote one Twitter user.
Another wrote: “Why do we play Lukaku if the players behind him aren’t capable or competent enough to feed him.”
Lukaku has had a disappointing season since rejoining Chelsea in £97.5m move from Inter Milan last summer.
The Belgium international has managed 10 goals in 27 appearances for the Blues but has come under fire for his performances, particularly in the Premier League.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel recently admitted that he had expected “more goals” from the former Everton and Manchester United striker but urged patience.
“I still believe that he will [score goals]. We need a bit more patience than we all have,” said Tuchel.
“We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are several reasons why things are maybe like this and we are on it.
“We want to bring Romelu in better situations, we want to understand him better, it is an ongoing process but we still have trust because he has proved that he is the guy to have the last touch and score goals.
“Disappointed is not the right word but of course we thought and for him as well, he wanted to produce the numbers right from the start but we are all humans and we demand a lot defensively from our strikers as well.”
Topics: Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku, Football, Crystal Palace, Premier League
Rory O'Callaghan