https://theathletic.com/3284348/2022/05/04/watching-lukaku-a-player-in-limbo/
https://bbs.hupu.com/53456833.html
Watching Lukaku, a player in limbo
By Liam Twomey - May 4, 2022
It was the face that launched a thousand tweets: Romelu Lukaku, sitting on
Chelsea's bench at Goodison Park, accompanied by the realization that he
would not, in fact, be called upon to find an equalizing goal against
Everton. Thomas Tuchel decided that Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech
were better suited for this task than the most expensive number 9 in
football history.
https://i.imgur.com/xbviJxb.jpg
Lukaku's impassive gaze seemed to sum up a lot – months of professional
misery, an afternoon being booed or ignored by fans of the former club for
whom he scored more Premier League goals than any other, the anticipation
of more public mockery to come – while explicitly reveals nothing. The
camera took just enough time to ensure it became a meme.
Personal indignities have been relentless lately. It was hard not to feel
sorry for Lukaku as he rushed to the Old Trafford pitch as a 70th-minute
substitute to a chorus of boos from Manchester United fans last week.
Chelsea's traveling fans felt the same way too, quickly responding by
chanting the name of the striker who had received a very different
reception at Stamford Bridge eight days earlier.
Making his first Premier League start in over two months against Arsenal
that day, Lukaku ran out of patience. Already in the 10th minute, there
were audible groans from Matthew Harding's stands as the Belgian jumped
undisputed to connect with a goal kick, only to misjudge the ball's flight
and see it go over his head. On the sideline, Tuchel turned his back on
the game to complain to his assistants.
https://i.imgur.com/TgSh16I.jpg
Later in the first half, there was ironic applause as Lukaku threw himself
into two aerial duels, and he left the field on the hour mark to boos from
the home crowd – quickly followed by a high-pitched roar welcoming the
arrival of substitute Kai Havertz. Arsenal handled Chelsea's record
signing with ease, in contrast to the previous meeting between the two
clubs at the Emirates Stadium in August, when it seemed certain that Pablo
Mari would be the first in a long list of Premier League centre-backs he
would torment.
Lukaku's unrelenting treatment of Arsenal also clashes with the fact that
Chelsea fans have a long history of keeping the surprising number of
forwards they fought in the Roman Abramovich era, from Mateja Kezman and
Andriy Shevchenko to Fernando Torres and more recently, Timo Werner, who
frequently hears his name reverberating in the stands, regardless of how
many great chances he misses.
The determining factor in his level of sympathy tends to be the perception
of commitment to the cause and, like Alvaro Morata before him, Lukaku –
mainly as a result of Sky Italia's poorly judged interview in December –
was judged by many to be lacking in this regard. crucial.
But aside from commitment, the word that comes closest than any other to
summarizing the Lukaku experience since the turn of the year is
“isolation”. His disconnect with the rest of the Chelsea squad is
glaring on the pitch: inopportune runs, requests for passes that never
arrive, regular cross-threads with teammates and a general lack of
involvement, best encapsulated by the disastrous seven-touch class against
Crystal Palace. at Selhurst Park in February.
在赛前热身的时候，卢卡库和球队之间的隔阂非常明显。切尔西的替补队员在开
球前一小时与首发队员分开训练，但即使在这一小群人中，卢卡库在最近几周也被观
察到独自训练。在温布利，在足总杯半决赛对阵水晶宫之前，他花了几分钟漫无目的
地闲逛，几乎没有和队友、工作人员交流，甚至连球都没有。
在对阵阿森纳的比赛中被任命为首发确保了他更多的参与训练，但仍然很少有互
动，有几次像这样的时刻，但他看起来仍像处于群体之外。在老特拉福德的一段时间
里他几乎是曼联半场中唯一的切尔西球员，他与另一位替补球员特雷沃˙查洛巴交换
传球，与其他替补和首发球员相隔甚远。
https://i.imgur.com/NQAOJjS.jpg
本周，切尔西一线队的许多人告知 The Athletic，卢卡库和队友之间没有什么
重大问题，那次采访给更衣室带来的紧张气氛也没有让他对球队的承诺受到质疑。他
和齐耶奇的关系尤其密切 — 齐耶奇第一个祝贺他在最后时刻赢得了若日尼奥在对西
汉姆的比赛中错过的点球 — 还有萨尔，他的意大利经纪人 Federico Pastorello
所代理的的另一位球员。He is certainly not an outcast among his peers.
但公平地说，卢卡库的确并没有做到图赫尔去年九月所说的那种形象： "他是那
种巨星球员，但他非常谦逊、热爱足球、喜欢训练，他在更衣室里是一个很好的沟通
者。He is always open to everyone and that creates a certain energy and
atmosphere that we are proud of. That's what we believe in."
七个月过去了，这位被买来作为补足切尔西缺少的一员，无论在场上还是场下，
都很容易被忽视。According to fbref.com data, Lukaku has been the target of
the fewest passes for 90 minutes of any outfield player in Tuchel's team
– when it comes to incoming passes, he's by a considerable distance:
Lukaku rarely catches the ball at Chelsea:
Player pass Passes Progressive
targets/90 received/90 passing goals/90
=========================================================
Lukaku 44.1 19.9 8
Husdon-Odoi 47.9 36.8 6.8
Alonso 49.6 43.3 4.4
Chilwell 49.2 42.7 5
Pulisic 50.2 35.8 9.1
Werner 50.3 32.2 9.6
Ziyech 54.6 45.7 7.8
Mount 56 44.2 8.9
Havertz 56.8 37.4 10.3
Of course, one would expect a No 9 to be less involved in set-up plays
than his teammates further down the field – but Lukaku's averages by 90
in those areas are also significantly below his two spectacular seasons at
Inter, as well as his two relatively disappointing campaigns at Manchester
United.
United and Inter involved more Lukaku:
Season pass Passes Progressive
targets/90 received/90 passing goals/90
=========================================================
2017/18 50.8 27.1 9
2018/19 51.3 27.6 10.3
2019/20 48.1 28.2 12.9
2020/21 49 29.2 12.1
2021/22 44.1 19.9 8
切尔西对卢卡库的需求越来越少，近几个月来，哈佛兹的出现几乎无助于他扭转
这种趋势，而哈佛兹正是图赫尔体系所需要的那种灵活、强硬的进攻核心。
“What he gives us is enormous volume,” the Chelsea manager said of
Havertz in March. “He runs a lot of meters at high intensity, so he finds
the intensity, no matter what system the opponent defends against us, he
finds intense runs, he finds distances. That's what makes him and he uses
his body more and more.”
https://i.imgur.com/5PF1mvq.jpg
相对的，The Athletic 被告知，卢卡库本赛季早些时候向图赫尔的团队承认，
他正在努力适应切尔西无情的高位逼抢对他的身体要求，并解释说，国际米兰的孔蒂
给了他更多的行动自由。这意味着，图赫尔所要求的跑动量会对他的进攻效率有很大
的影响。
而这些数据可能会支持这一论点，他在切尔西的高位逼抢表现已经高于过往任何
一个赛季，无法再大幅提高了。
Lukaku is pushing a little harder:
Season pressures/90 Pressure success (%)
===============================================
2017/18 10 27.3
2018/19 13.2 29.7
2019/20 7.8 23.3
2020/21 9.1 27.5
2021/22 10.2 30.5
The Athletic 同时也被告知，卢卡库与切尔西体系的不兼容程度让图赫尔和他
的工作人员感到非常惊讶。他们在去年夏天明确表示，球队需要一名真正的精英九号
前锋来帮助球队达到最佳平衡，并与俱乐部的引援人员一致认为比利时人是一个不错
的选择。
但从那以后的所有事件都是一团乱麻，每个人都有责任。如果在一般的情况下，
赛季结束后双方分手似乎是唯一可能的结果，但是，去年夏天达成的9750万英镑的交
易的经济现实，加上目前转会市场的大环境，双方可能还无法马上分手。
也许这就是卢卡库现在看起来如此孤立和难过的最大原因 — 他知道自己正处于
一个职业的低谷，无法轻易逃脱。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbHoTm2phrs
Chelsea and Lukaku are a 'terrible fit' - where do they go from here?