EPL: Why Tuchel may have dropped Lukaku vs Liverpool

It was a big surprise for many Chelsea fans and football lovers after the Blues squad to play against Liverpool was unveiled.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel dropped Romelu Lukaku out of the first eleven and didn’t put him on the bench.

The move was unexpected, but it appears Lukaku’s statement during the week may have been the reason behind this.

Lukaku, in a statement a few days ago, had criticised Tuchel’s style of football at Chelsea as he revealed he would return to Italian club Inter Milan soon.

Reacting to Tuchel’s decision to drop Lukaku, Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness stressed that the Belgian striker must apologise to his teammates for his comment.

Souness described Lukaku’s decision to say those things as “ridiculous and damaging” as he supported Tuchel for leaving out the forward in the game vs Liverpool, which is important in their title race for this season.

“It was totally disrespectful. He’s 29 years old not 19 and he should know better. This damages the football club enormously. It’s like walking into a dressing room and telling the other guys, ‘I don’t want to be with you anymore,” Souness said.

“It damages the manager, and he should say, ‘If you don’t fancy it here, there’s the door. On you go’. The first thing I’d do if I was Thomas Tuchel is I’d tell Lukaku that he needs to apologise. He needs to stand in front of everyone in the dressing room and apologise unreservedly.”