Striker-less Chelsea grapple with Lukaku conundrum

Twenty-one minutes from the end of the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final at Juventus, Inter summoned their star forward.

Romelu Lukaku had started on the bench to keep him fresh for weighty assignments ahead, like next week's European Cup quarter-final and the taut joust to stay in Serie A’s top four, which Inter need to guarantee Champions League football next season.

But on Tuesday they urgently required someone to unlock the door. Juve-Inter stood at 0-0. The arrival of Lukaku lit a fuse. He was booked within 11 minutes for a robust challenge.

Juventus took the lead through Juan Cuadrado’s angled strike. Inter won a penalty in stoppage time. Lukaku converted it, and, having heard audible racist abuse during his time on the pitch, gestured with a defiant salute to spectators behind the goal.

He received a second caution, one of three red cards shown – Cuadrado and Inter captain Samir Handanovic were the others – in a tempestuous close to the 1-1 draw.

Over in London, Lukaku’s parent club Chelsea were drawing their own heavyweight fixture, 0-0 at home to Liverpool in the Premier League.

It was two evenings after Chelsea had announced the sacking of a second manager, Graham Potter, this season. His caretaker replacement, Bruno Saltor, can hardly be expected to instantly correct Chelsea’s shortcomings.

But if Bruno did not long for a proven, confident centre-forward as he watched chances go astray and an expensively assembled Chelsea side end up goalless for the sixth time in 10 league games, it would be surprising. Chelsea remain marooned in the bottom half of England’s top division.

One of Potter’s last longer-term pronouncements in the Chelsea job had concerned Lukaku, who Chelsea made the most expensive