Thomas Tuchel saw the funny side of a less than impressive stat about Romelu Lukaku's performance against Crystal Palace, although he insists the striker has his full support. Chelsea's first Premier League game since the end of January saw them pick up a hard-fought 1-0 win over Palace on Saturday.
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“It's very frustrating and I know what I would be doing at half-time or on the training ground. He's got to demand the ball and make sure his team-mates are prepared to pass it to him.”
Tuchel was asked about Lukaku's new record, to which the German head coach let out a laugh.
But the Chelsea boss doesn't want Lukaku to be ridiculed and insists the club will "protect him".
"Ha, what can I do? I don't know," Tuchel said.
Romelu Lukaku touched the ball just seven times (Image: GETTY)
"Well, now we have to deal with it, the data is out there and speaks a certain language.
"He was not involved in our game, it's sometimes like this with strikers.
"If they struggle a bit with self-confidence, if they struggle a little bit to find the space and to get involved against a defensive side, it can be like this.
"It's of course not what we want and not what Romelu wants, but it's also not the time to laugh about him, make jokes about him. He's in the spotlight of course, and we will protect him."