Thomas Tuchel feels Romelu Lukaku’s two goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers showed what a difference a bit of confidence can make for striker and hopes to see more of the same going forward.
Lukaku found the back of the net twice against Wolves, earning and converting a penalty after half-time before firing in an early shot with his right foot from the edge of the box.
Although we couldn’t hold on to that lead for the win, Tuchel believes the Belgian will get a confidence boost from his individual performance.
Furthermore, our head coach also believes we have already seen the influence confidence plays for strikers by the assured way Lukaku took his second goal, just two minutes after netting the first.
‘Today he delivered,’ said Tuchel. ‘Every striker is a very sensitive player. I don’t know any other strikers who have their confidence if they are on a streak where they don’t have to role that they wish for and it’s the same for Romelu.
‘So you see it immediately, it arrived. The second one was straight away easier because he had his goal and he fought hard for his goal. It’s like this, they are sensitive because they are decisive and that’s why it is super important.’
Representatives of the club’s potential new owners, including Todd Boehly, were at Stamford Bridge to see Saturday’s 2-2 draw after it was announced the previous evening that terms had been agreed for the sale, pending Government and Premier League approval.
Tuchel was asked whether he had been in contact and if he planned to pass on his idea of Chelsea’s DNA, but the German insists it is still too early to think about things like that.
‘He’s not officially the owner yet so it makes no sense to talk about ownership when the ownership is not clear.
‘I don’t even know if this is my job, I am the coach of the team and I have enough to do. So if he wants my impression I am happy to give it but I’m not so sure that this is my job and I’m pretty sure he knows very well what Chelsea is about.’
With the club taking another step towards new ownership, and what that could mean for our summer transfer activity, it was also suggested some of the squad may be feeling more pressure and be playing for their futures at the Bridge.
However, our head coach insists that is nothing out of the ordinary at this stage of the season, with the players used to constant speculation and scrutiny on their performances.
‘It’s always like this at the end of the season,’ he added. ‘If you sign for Chelsea and you play at this kind of level a part of it is that it is not always easy and it’s not always enjoyable. It’s tough, it’s tiring, it’s draining and that’s what you need to accept at this kind of level.’