Premier League: Romelu Lukaku dropped from Chelsea's home fixture against Liverpool, as 'thing got too noisy'
Jan 02, 2022
London [UK], January 2 : Romelu Lukaku has been dropped from the Chelsea FC squad which will face Liverpool on Sunday at the Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku, 28, has scored in his last two Premier League appearances since his return to the Blues' squad after testing positive for COVID-19.
But the marksman has since found himself amid the controversy after he said he is "not very happy with the situation" at Stamford Bridge, and complained of Tuchel's decision to play "a different formation" in an interview that was broadcast this week.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Thomas Tuchel explained that the Romelu Lukaku issue became "too noisy" and so he made the decision to drop the striker from his squad.
"The thing got too big, the thing got too noisy so close to the match so I decided to protect the preparation of the match and that's why he is out," Tuchel said ahead of the match.
"Of course we have spoken. We have spoken twice and I have spoken to the main players."
"We have a big match to play and we need full focus...It is, in my opinion, easier if he is not in the squad. For sure, it was a difficult decision to take but in my opinion it was the decision to take," he added.
Meanwhile, for visitors, Alisson, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip have been ruled out of trip to Chelsea, after returning suspected positive COVID-19 tests. It follows news Jurgen Klopp will not be present at the encounter after also registering a suspected positive test.
