'It's not even his fault': Tuchel says what Lukaku needs to start scoring

"I don’t think he needs inspiration," Thomas Tuchel said of Romelu Lukaku's poor form. "What he needs is maybe that one moment, one spark.

"I told you that he would normally be a natural starter against Crystal Palace from terms also of the amount Kai Havertz played now, the amount of physicality Kai gives to the matches.

"After a period of injury, he lacks the stiffness and fitness for matches. I don’t point the finger on him. It’s just a fact, it’s not even his fault.

"It is just like this and in the crucial time of the season where you need a certain rhythm.

"If you compare our matches and see the difference of Brentford, Real Madrid and then Southampton, Real Madrid - in a short period of time you see the huge amount of effort we put in to become again a winning team. This is what we need.

"It goes from there and then Romelu should have maybe had a goal against Real Madrid, missing the luck. It’s an option that he starts. If he starts we need him physically.

"Maybe he cannot play 90 minutes, maybe to put it all out there for 60 minutes."

Chelsea face Arsenal on Wednesday and there is a chance Lukaku starts, considering he put in an exceptional performance against the Gunners back in August.