Ajibade Olusesan 
It has been a steep downhill for Romelu Lukaku since that infamous interview he granted Sky Italia where he criticized coach Thomas Tuchel for his lack of regular action; his questionable performance since then has put him under further scrutiny but after getting back on the score sheet in the semifinal of the World Club Cup on Thursday, the Belgian can win back the trust of the Blues faithful by leading their charge to victory in today’s final against Brazil’s Palmeiras.
Chelsea splashed a whopping £97million on Lukaku last summer to solve a problem which was a lack of goals but a lack of consistency and poor attitude of their prized asset may have the club’s hierarchy re-evaluate their investment in the striker. Despite Lukaku’s arrival, the lack of goals that was evident in their campaign last season has persisted. Tuchel’s side grabbed a narrow 1-0 victory over Al-Hilal in the semifinal of the ongoing World Club Cup and that was the fifth time that they managed to score no more than one goal in 90 minutes across their last six games.
In fact, their top scorer this season is none other than holding midfielder Jorginho who has netted nine goals, mainly scoring from the spot. Lukaku has also scored nine times, while Ziyech and Timo Werner have registered six goals each in all competitions. He hit the ground running upon his arrival but it seems the goals are drying up and the fans are growing impatient.
That ignoble interview inevitably caused friction between the player and his coach; although the matter has been resolved, the striker has managed just two goals in eight games in 2022 and looks like a shadow of the player that scored 64 goals in two seasons with Inter. Former Chelsea player William Gallas believes Luakku subjected himself to further pressure with his comment about Tuchel’s style and he has the responsibility to prove himself on the pitch. “Unfortunately he has put himself under big pressure after he talked with the media,” said Gallas. “That means he has to have big shoulders and answer it on the pitch, it’s a simple answer. If you are a striker at Chelsea, you have to score goals.”
Today’s tie provides him the opportunity to win his first silverware for his boyhood club; it is hard for anyone to doubt Lukaku’s ability but he needs to quickly shake off poor form and use this final to win over seemingly fastidious Chelsea fans. Here is the road to redemption, Lukaku can make it count today.
