https://theathletic.com/3284348/2022/05/04/watching-lukaku-a-player-in-limbo/
https://bbs.hupu.com/53456833.html
Watching Lukaku, a player in limbo
By Liam Twomey - May 4, 2022
It was the face that launched a thousand tweets: Romelu Lukaku, sitting on
Chelsea's bench at Goodison Park, accompanied by the realization that he
would not, in fact, be called upon to find an equalizing goal against
Everton. Thomas Tuchel decided that Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech
were better suited for this task than the most expensive number 9 in
football history.
https://i.imgur.com/xbviJxb.jpg
Lukaku's impassive gaze seemed to sum up a lot – months of professional
misery, an afternoon being booed or ignored by fans of the former club for
whom he scored more Premier League goals than any other, the anticipation
of more public mockery to come – while explicitly reveals nothing. The
camera took just enough time to ensure it became a meme.
Personal indignities have been relentless lately. It was hard not to feel
sorry for Lukaku as he rushed to the Old Trafford pitch as a 70th-minute
substitute to a chorus of boos from Manchester United fans last week.
Chelsea's traveling fans felt the same way too, quickly responding by
chanting the name of the striker who had received a very different
reception at Stamford Bridge eight days earlier.
Making his first Premier League start in over two months against Arsenal
that day, Lukaku ran out of patience. Already in the 10th minute, there
were audible groans from Matthew Harding's stands as the Belgian jumped
undisputed to connect with a goal kick, only to misjudge the ball's flight
and see it go over his head. On the sideline, Tuchel turned his back on
the game to complain to his assistants.
https://i.imgur.com/TgSh16I.jpg
Later in the first half, there was ironic applause as Lukaku threw himself
into two aerial duels, and he left the field on the hour mark to boos from
the home crowd – quickly followed by a high-pitched roar welcoming the
arrival of substitute Kai Havertz. Arsenal handled Chelsea's record
signing with ease, in contrast to the previous meeting between the two
clubs at the Emirates Stadium in August, when it seemed certain that Pablo
Mari would be the first in a long list of Premier League centre-backs he
would torment.
Lukaku's unrelenting treatment of Arsenal also clashes with the fact that
Chelsea fans have a long history of keeping the surprising number of
forwards they fought in the Roman Abramovich era, from Mateja Kezman and
Andriy Shevchenko to Fernando Torres and more recently, Timo Werner, who
frequently hears his name reverberating in the stands, regardless of how
many great chances he misses.
The determining factor in his level of sympathy tends to be the perception
of commitment to the cause and, like Alvaro Morata before him, Lukaku –
mainly as a result of Sky Italia's poorly judged interview in December –
was judged by many to be lacking in this regard. crucial.
But aside from commitment, the word that comes closest than any other to
summarizing the Lukaku experience since the turn of the year is
“isolation”. His disconnect with the rest of the Chelsea squad is
glaring on the pitch: inopportune runs, requests for passes that never
arrive, regular cross-threads with teammates and a general lack of
involvement, best encapsulated by the disastrous seven-touch class against
Crystal Palace. at Selhurst Park in February.
在賽前熱身的時候，盧卡庫和球隊之間的隔閡非常明顯。切爾西的替補隊員在開
球前一小時與首發隊員分開訓練，但即使在這一小群人中，盧卡庫在最近幾週也被觀
察到獨自訓練。在溫布利，在足總盃半決賽對陣水晶宮之前，他花了幾分鐘漫無目的
地閒逛，幾乎沒有和隊友、工作人員交流，甚至連球都沒有。
在對陣阿森納的比賽中被任命為首發確保了他更多的參與訓練，但仍然很少有互
動，有幾次像這樣的時刻，但他看起來仍像處於群體之外。在老特拉福德的一段時間
裡他幾乎是曼聯半場中唯一的切爾西球員，他與另一位替補球員特雷沃˙查洛巴交換
傳球，與其他替補和首發球員相隔甚遠。
https://i.imgur.com/NQAOJjS.jpg
本週，切爾西一線隊的許多人告知 The Athletic，盧卡庫和隊友之間沒有什麼
重大問題，那次採訪給更衣室帶來的緊張氣氛也沒有讓他對球隊的承諾受到質疑。他
和齊耶奇的關係尤其密切 — 齊耶奇第一個祝賀他在最後時刻贏得了若日尼奧在對西
漢姆的比賽中錯過的點球 — 還有薩爾，他的義大利經紀人 Federico Pastorello
所代理的的另一位球員。He is certainly not an outcast among his peers.
但公平地說，盧卡庫的確並沒有做到圖赫爾去年九月所說的那種形象： "他是那
種巨星球員，但他非常謙遜、熱愛足球、喜歡訓練，他在更衣室裡是一個很好的溝通
者。He is always open to everyone and that creates a certain energy and
atmosphere that we are proud of. That's what we believe in."
七個月過去了，這位被買來作為補足切爾西缺少的一員，無論在場上還是場下，
都很容易被忽視。According to fbref.com data, Lukaku has been the target of
the fewest passes for 90 minutes of any outfield player in Tuchel's team
– when it comes to incoming passes, he's by a considerable distance:
Lukaku rarely catches the ball at Chelsea:
Player pass Passes Progressive
targets/90 received/90 passing goals/90
=========================================================
Lukaku 44.1 19.9 8
Husdon-Odoi 47.9 36.8 6.8
Alonso 49.6 43.3 4.4
Chilwell 49.2 42.7 5
Pulisic 50.2 35.8 9.1
Werner 50.3 32.2 9.6
Ziyech 54.6 45.7 7.8
Mount 56 44.2 8.9
Havertz 56.8 37.4 10.3
Of course, one would expect a No 9 to be less involved in set-up plays
than his teammates further down the field – but Lukaku's averages by 90
in those areas are also significantly below his two spectacular seasons at
Inter, as well as his two relatively disappointing campaigns at Manchester
United.
United and Inter involved more Lukaku:
Season pass Passes Progressive
targets/90 received/90 passing goals/90
=========================================================
2017/18 50.8 27.1 9
2018/19 51.3 27.6 10.3
2019/20 48.1 28.2 12.9
2020/21 49 29.2 12.1
2021/22 44.1 19.9 8
切爾西對盧卡庫的需求越來越少，近幾個月來，哈佛茲的出現幾乎無助於他扭轉
這種趨勢，而哈佛茲正是圖赫爾體系所需要的那種靈活、強硬的進攻核心。
“What he gives us is enormous volume,” the Chelsea manager said of
Havertz in March. “He runs a lot of meters at high intensity, so he finds
the intensity, no matter what system the opponent defends against us, he
finds intense runs, he finds distances. That's what makes him and he uses
his body more and more.”
https://i.imgur.com/5PF1mvq.jpg
相對的，The Athletic 被告知，盧卡庫本賽季早些時候向圖赫爾的團隊承認，
他正在努力適應切爾西無情的高位逼搶對他的身體要求，並解釋說，國際米蘭的孔蒂
給了他更多的行動自由。這意味著，圖赫爾所要求的跑動量會對他的進攻效率有很大
的影響。
而這些數據可能會支持這一論點，他在切爾西的高位逼搶表現已經高於過往任何
一個賽季，無法再大幅提高了。
Lukaku is pushing a little harder:
Season pressures/90 Pressure success (%)
===============================================
2017/18 10 27.3
2018/19 13.2 29.7
2019/20 7.8 23.3
2020/21 9.1 27.5
2021/22 10.2 30.5
The Athletic 同時也被告知，盧卡庫與切爾西體系的不兼容程度讓圖赫爾和他
的工作人員感到非常驚訝。他們在去年夏天明確表示，球隊需要一名真正的精英九號
前鋒來幫助球隊達到最佳平衡，並與俱樂部的引援人員一致認為比利時人是一個不錯
的選擇。
但從那以後的所有事件都是一團亂麻，每個人都有責任。如果在一般的情況下，
賽季結束後雙方分手似乎是唯一可能的結果，但是，去年夏天達成的9750萬英鎊的交
易的經濟現實，加上目前轉會市場的大環境，雙方可能還無法馬上分手。
也許這就是盧卡庫現在看起來如此孤立和難過的最大原因 — 他知道自己正處於
一個職業的低谷，無法輕易逃脫。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbHoTm2phrs
Chelsea and Lukaku are a 'terrible fit' - where do they go from here?