Romelu Lukaku: Chelsea striker removed from the ‘fire’ by not featuring against Lille - boss Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel says he avoided using Romelu Lukaku in their 2-0 Champions League last-16 first leg win over Lille because the striker was already under too much scrutiny. The Belgium international, who has fallen short of expectations since returning to the club when he signed from Inter Milan last summer, was an unused substitute at Stamford Bridge after he was criticised for his performance in Saturday’s victory over Crystal Palace.

Ad/> Lukaku touched the ball just seven times in that match, which according to statisticians Opta is the fewest in the Premier League for a player who featured for 90 minutes since it began its records in 2003. Champions LeagueThe road to where? Plus: Havertz shows Lukaku the way – The Warm-Up2 HOURS AGO The 28-year-old watched on as Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic got the goals to put the European champions in control of the tie ahead of the return leg in France.

«It was not the moment after the match where everyone was focused on his few touches, so it was not the moment to put him into the next fire,» said Tuchel. «It was the moment to take a step back, that was the decision and that's it.

We have now had a strong win and a strong performance. »We have now had a good win — and all the questions are still about Romelu, so the focus is huge.

There are nine other players who did not play and we should never forget that we consider this sport a team sport." /> Tuchel said he was “very pleased” with the performance of Havertz, who scored his second goal in three games having also got the decisive strike in the Club World Cup final win over Palmeiras. The road to where? Plus: Havertz shows Lukaku the way – The Warm-Up Havertz, Pulisic score as Chelsea ease past Lille in