Lukaku was what we were missing last season: Tuchel
Belgian striker scores fourth goal in as many games as Chelsea eke out win
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said Romelu Lukaku's knack of scoring decisive goals was what the Blues were missing despite winning the Champions League last season.
Lukaku enlivened an otherwise flat performance with the only goal to beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge yesterday morning (Singapore time) to get the Blues' defence of their European crown off to a winning start.
The Belgian striker now has four goals in as many games since returning to the Blues for a club record £97.5 million (S$181m) last month.
And his predatory instincts 21 minutes from time papered over the cracks of a disappointing display from Tuchel's men.
"He was the type of guy we were missing," said Tuchel. "It is super hard and super important. You don't find many strikers of that quality."
The German added that it was not easy for Lukaku as they did not create many chances for him, but he does not lose confidence and belief.
Before kick-off, Tuchel, Edouard Mendy and Jorginho were presented with Uefa Coach, Goalkeeper and Player of the Year Awards respectively.
However, Chelsea hardly looked like an exemplary side.
They laboured to create chances against the Russian champions, with Tuchel citing a lack of pre-season for many of his stars involved at Euro 2020 and the Copa America.
But his side managed to grind out another win and keep another clean sheet - the 23rd since Tuchel took over in January.
Zenit had kept Lukaku quiet for nearly 70 minutes, but all he needed was one teasing cross from captain Cesar Azpilicueta to get off the mark in the Champions League for his new club by planting a header past Stanislav Kritsyuk.
The Belgian told BT Sport that Azpilicueta and him had agreed on "certain type of movements on the pitch".
"I had to get my timing right but it was a beautiful ball by him. We knew it would be a tough game but we controlled it really well," Lukaku added.
Impressed by Lukaku's killer instinct, former Chelsea player Joe Cole believes the 28-year-old will become the top scorer in this season's Champions League. "Lukaku didn't even have one of his better games, he was a little bit scruffy but he's a finisher now, a killer," Cole told BT Sport.
Zenit boss Sergei Semak threw on the towering presence of Artem Dzyuba in search of an equaliser and it nearly paid off.
But the 1.97m Russian international couldn't stretch to get a clean enough contact on Sardar Azmoun's cross 10 minutes from time and the ball went wide. - AFP
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