Thomas Tuchel warns over Romelu Lukaku 'jokes' ahead of Liverpool's clash with Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel has vowed to protect Romelu Lukaku and believes 'it is not the time to laugh about' the Chelsea forward’s struggles.

The striker completed a big-money transfer to Chelsea from Inter Milan during the summer transfer window last year.

Lukaku scored within a quarter of an hour of his second Chelsea debut away to Arsenal before going on to score six more times in all competitions by the end of December.

However, the Belgium international has struggled in recent months and only touched the ball seven times during his side’s 1-0 victory Crystal Palace on Saturday.

It was the lowest number any player has managed in a 90-minute Premier League appearance since at least 2003, when that data was first recorded.

And speaking ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Lille tonight, Tuchel has admitted that he is unsure how to arrest Lukaku’s slump in form.

“What can I do? I don’t know. We have to deal with it. The data is out there and speaks the language that he wasn’t in our game,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s like this with strikers if they struggle a little bit with self- confidence and [to] find the space to get involved with a good defensive side.

“Of course it’s not what we want and [not] what Romelu wants but it’s also not the time to laugh about him and make jokes about him. He’s in the spotlight and we’ll protect him.”

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