Chelsea started their European title defence with a narrow win against Zenit St Petersburg. Thomas Tuchel has praised Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian international scored the only goal of the game.
Chelsea faced Russian side Zenit St Petersburg in the opening game of the Champions League. Zenit St Petersburg fielded a back five that made life difficult for Chelsea. The Blues created plenty of chance but couldn’t get it past the Russian defence. During halftime, things changed for The Blues.
At the 69th minute of the game, Romelu Lukaku rose high and netted the winning goal for Chelsea. Cesar Azpilicueta’s deep cross broke down the Russian side’s defence. Antonio Rudiger was immense in both the boxes.
Meanwhile, this wasn’t Chelsea’s best performance. Unlike their performance against Aston Villa during the weekend Chelsea couldn’t dominate their opposition’s box. Thomas Tuchel made five changes to his team that featured against Aston Villa. The German manager introduced Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen in defence along with Antonio Rudiger in front of Edouard Mendy between the sticks.
Moreover, Jorginho also returned to the side along with Mateo Kovacic in the midfield. Mateo Kovacic was Chelsea’s star performer against Aston Villa. He scored as well as assisted in Chelsea’s 3-0 win. Reece James, Mason Mount, and Hakim Ziyech also returned to the side.
Thomas Tuchel praises world-class Romelu Lukaku
Thomas Tuchel said the cross for Cesar Azpilicueta was very good and it was very difficult to defend. Moreover, he said that Chelsea did not create a lot of chances for Romelu Lukaku. Tuchel believes Lukaku is the type of guy that does not lose belief or confidence. This quality makes him a world-class striker. Romelu Lukaku has scored four goals in four appearances for Chelsea this season.
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