Tuchel’s decision to drop Lukaku vindicated as spirited Chelsea hold Liverpool

One of the reasons why Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel has been a successful manager wherever he has been is because he has been a stern disciplinarian.

For him, the team always comes first, and no matter the pedigree of a player, he cannot be bigger than the club. The German manager treated Romelu Lukaku in the same way after the striker went 'rogue' during a controversial interview last week.

Lukaku drew the ire of many Chelsea fans when he openly talked about his desire to return to Inter Milan. He also expressed his unhappiness with his reduced role since rejoining the Blues, while questioning Tuchel's tactics.

Unsurprisingly, he was dropped for the game against Liverpool on Sunday, where Chelsea recovered from two goals down to force a share of the spoils.

It was necessary to avoid the noise - Tuchel on why he dropped Lukaku for Chelsea's game against Liverpool

Thomas Tuchel described Lukaku’s controversial press conference as 'noise' that wasn’t needed ahead of a crucial game against a fellow title contender like Liverpool. His decision to drop the Belgian forward was also justified, as Lukaku's presence could have attracted a lot of disaffection from the home fans.

Imagine supporters booing and jeering Lukaku’s every touch when the team was 2-0 down against Liverpool or withdrawing their raucous support because Lukaku was named in the starting lineup!

Whichever way you look at it, Tuchel did the right thing by keeping his team focused on the task ahead and avoiding the storm that could’ve come with Lukaku’s inclusion.

In a latest development, Tuchel seems to have accepted Lukaku's apology, and the Belgian striker is back in Chelsea's squad.

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Tuchel’s decision vindicated

To Chelsea’s credit, the team did not miss Lukaku against Liverpool. Tuchel also succeeded in sending the message that no player is bigger than the team.

Had Chelsea lost, the German manager would’ve come under scrutiny. However, the spirited performance his side put up vindicated his decision to drop the Belgian striker.

The team maintained its focus, and the players fought for each other. Not many teams come back from 2-0 down against Liverpool, but Chelsea did, and it was thanks to the character shown by the eleven players on the pitch.

“First of all, we were even in the background happy that we took the time that it needed to look calmly on it and talk calmly,” Tuchel said, as quoted by the Guardian. He (Lukaku) apologised, and is back in the squad for (Tuesday’s) training."

"For me, the most important thing was to understand and clearly understand and believe that it was not intentional. He did not do this intentionally to create noise in front of such a big game. And it’s the very first time even he has behaved like this.”

All is now forgiven, and Lukaku will be in contention to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Wednesday. What is clear, though, is that Tuchel’s decision to drop Lukaku served its purpose and gave the team a calm atmosphere to hold Liverpool.