Manchester United’s inability to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo’s optimal qualities has handed Chelsea a rude awakening, warning Thomas Tuchel to solve Romelu Lukaku’s biggest dilemma.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has seemingly been intent on operating a high-pressing system at Man United which has alienated the 36-year-old from fulfilling his talents, which has not only seen the Red Devils suffer offensively but defensively too.
Despite the widely accepted fact that the Solskjaer is out Thomas Tuchel’s, Pep Guardiola’s and Jurgen Klopp’s league on a tactical, technical and silverware-winning level, his stubbornness to not rewrite blueprints in order to get the best out of Ronaldo serves as a reminder to the Chelsea boss.
Lukaku, who returned to the Blues over the summer from Inter Milan in a deal worth £97.5 million, enjoyed a fruitful honeymoon period in west London but has endured a rocky time since.
The 28-year-old talisman has gone 474 minutes without a Chelsea goal as Antonio Conte’s initial caution sent to Tuchel rings at large in the back of the German’s head.
Conte, who according to the Manchester Evening News is open to a United job ironically, told the Blues boss earlier in the season that he doesn’t know how to optimise Lukaku to the best of his abilities at Chelsea in a time where the cracks were just beginning to show.
Speaking on Italian TV, Conte said: “I don’t think Chelsea have quite figured out how to use Lukaku yet. Last season, they didn’t have a proper centre forward, so they rotated.”
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Lukaku is an integral piece to Chelsea’s puzzle in how Tuchel wants to set up offensively and defensively, however the Belgian is too under Roberto Martinez yet he scores more goals.
So, the former Paris Saint Germain boss must see Solskjaer’s early Halloween horror show management of Ronaldo as his second strike to fine-tuning the west Londoner’s tactics in order to get the best from Lukaku.
Tuchel is among the sport’s most elite coaches and his side – Chelsea – are quickly closing the gap with their Premier League rivals but to close that gap once and for all, the gates to Lukaku’s goal-scoring potential must be completely opened – not just merely.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher agreed with the principle that a top club must accommodate the best qualities of their primary source of goals even if it means tweaking the system.
Luckily for Blues fans, Tuchel has shown his ability to nurse gaps – like the newly seen trial of inverted wing-backs – unlike Solskjaer.
“You can be successful with any brand of football,” he said. “There’s no right or wrong way and the conversation we’re having now with Ronaldo hasn’t changed from ten years ago when he was here.”
Gary Neville then agreed and claimed that – like Lukaku at Chelsea – Man United need to ‘find a way of playing’ that suits Ronaldo.
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