Former Chelsea boss slams Thomas Tuchel’s handling of star man

It does not get much worse than back-to-back defeats against your Premier League and Champions League rivals. 

Chelsea followed up their flat 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City with an equally tepid 1-0 away defeat to Juventus in the Champions League.

While two frustrating defeats should not have alarm bells ringing, Thomas Tuchel will likely be returning to the drawing board over the course of the next few weeks.

The West Londoners started their season in electric fashion, with five wins out of six in all competitions.

Their acquisition of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £98m appeared to be the final part of a title winning machine for the Blues.

However, their two recent defeats have brought them back down to earth with a thud, and many are starting to feel concerned.

And to make matters worse, former Chelsea boss and recent manager to Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Conte has criticised the way in which Lukaku has been used at the club.

Antonio Conte transformed Romelu Lukaku’s game at Inter Milan

The Italian boss signed Lukaku from Manchester United when he took up the reins at Inter Milan; turning him into one of the most feared forwards in the world.

Talking to Sky Sports Italia, Conte said: “He (Lukaku) still has room for technical improvement, but he has already reached very high levels.

“He can improve in some phases of the game, he needs to be switched on sometimes.

“He’s impressive, he’s one of the most difficult forwards to face: he always has to be played, but at Chelsea they don’t quite understand how to use him.

“If they understand, Chelsea will become the team to beat.”

Chelsea face Southampton in the next Premier League game-week.

The last time the Blues beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side was in 2019, and the Saints have won five points out of nine in their last three matches with the West Londoners.