"If I’m Lukaku I’m going nuts" - Rio Ferdinand feels Chelsea striker has been let down by his teammates

Former Manchester United defender and football pundit Rio Ferdinand has jumped to the defense of Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian didn't receive proper service and made just seven touches in the Blues' 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Lukaku, as a result, has copped a lot of criticism. But the likes of Gary Lineker and Ferdinand believe it's the lack of service from his Chelsea teammates that is hampering the striker's game.

"When I played, if I wasn’t getting much of the ball, if I wasn’t getting service, I would be hammering people," Lineker said on Match of the Day.

Ferdinand concurred with Lineker's assessment, highlighting how Chelsea are not playing to Lukaku's strengths. He also believes that manager Thomas Tuchel is yet to zero in on a 'best team'.

"I agree with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer by the way, if anyone saw their comments, if I’m Lukaku I’m going nuts," the former Manchester United star said on Vibe with Five.

"[I would be saying] get me that ball, get wide and cross me the ball, play the ball in behind when you get the opportunity, play to my strengths. I think that’s probably the biggest issue you’ve got with Chelsea at the moment – what’s their best team? I don’t think [Thomas] Tuchel knows his best team at the moment."

He added:

"He wants to get a £100 million player in, which is understandable, in Lukaku and he’s hit a bit of a bad run in terms of goals. They’ve got to find a way of playing to his strengths."

"Lukaku’s strengths… what are they? He’s a fox in the box. You get that ball in the box and if it drops to hiom invariably he’ll put it away. He’s shown that everywhere he’s been all throughout his career. You cross the ball he can finish, he loves the ball played in behind to run on to things, to bulldoze his way past people."

He further said:

"I just don’t feel at the moment they’ve been playing to those strengths which have enabled him to be a £100m player."

Lukaku is sacrificing his game for Chelsea's betterment: Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand further expanded on how Lukaku is dropping deep at times to aid his team's game-play. That, in turn, is affecting the Belgian's output.

Lukaku, since his €113 million return to Chelsea, has scored 10 goals across competitions for them, only five of which have come in the Premier League. He seemed to be returning to form after recovering from Covid-19 in late December, but has gone four league matches without scoring since.

"If it was you in that situation [where you’re not getting the ball] you’d be going, ‘I’ve got to find the ball, I’ve got to get a touch’. But sometimes for the betterment of the team and what the manager wants to be that focal point and keeping two defenders occupied by staying up the pitch."

He added:

"The moment you start coming back and bringing more players in that midfield area the manager will go, ‘you’re messing up what we’re trying to do’. You’ve got to sacrifice your own game. I feel that’s what he’s doing at times, he’s sacrificing his own goal for the betterment of the team which is affecting his stats which he gets judged on."