Chelsea Boss Thomas Tuchel Admits Lukaku’s Return Has Not Worked According to Plan

• Thomas Tuchel has conceded Lukaku's return to Chelsea has failed to deliver the much-anticipated success that was envisaged
• However, the German tactician believes the fortunes of the big Belgian forward might change for the better
• Lukaku recently received some flak for failing to convert a sitter in Chelsea's humbling defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted Romelu Lukaku's return to the Stamford Bridge has not yielded the fruits that were envisaged but reckons things are likely to change in the future.

Lukaku rejoined the reigning European champions after a stellar season with Inter Milan but after a fine start to life in England, the Belgian international has struggled for form.

The 28-year-old has mustered 12 goals in 36 appearances for Chelsea and has further dropped down the pecking order to underline his struggle.

He recently received more stick after he missed a good goal scoring opportunity when Chelsea stumbled to a 3-1 home loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

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Reacting to Lukaku's miss in midweek, Tuchel was protective of his striker and stressed the former Manchester United was brought in for a purpose.

"We can't blame Romelu," Tuchel stated as quoted by GOAL ahead of his side's trip to Southampton this weekend. "Among other things, he entered at 3-1 [down], even if he then missed a good chance."

"Lukaku didn't destabilise us. He is a professional and recently trained very well. We bought [him] because we believed and still believe in him.

Tuchel was however confident that despite the struggles of Lukaku, he will come good in the future.

"Of course, the marriage hasn't gone well so far. We have to admit it. But it's not over – in football, everything can change in an instant."

Ex-Inter Milan striker says Karim Benzema is better than Lukaku

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that a former Inter Milan of Italy striker Aldo Serena has described Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema as a more composed finisher than Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku.

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Real set up a date with the Blues in the last eight of this season's Champions League after seeing off Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16.

Karim Benzema was the man of the moment for Los Blancos as he netted a hat-trick to inspire his side to a deserved win.