“We need him at his best” – Frank Leboeuf says key Chelsea man put in ‘average’ performance in win over Spurs

French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf believes Romelu Lukaku put on a less-than-exceptional performance for Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their semi-final EFL clash. Leboeuf found the Belgian decidedly mediocre.

As per the Chelsea Chronicle, he said:

“Average I would say. It’s like the story is still in his mind and he [Romelu Lukaku] has to get over it, otherwise he’s not going to have good performances and we need him at his best.”

Chelsea dominated the game against Tottenham, holding the lion’s share of possession and getting six shots on target, while Spurs had two. The Blues went on to comfortably win by 2-0 , with a goal from Kai Havertz and an own goal from Ben Davies giving them the victory.

This was Romelu Lukaku's first game for the Blues since his unsanctioned interview. Getting on the score sheet for Chelsea would’ve gone a long way to winning over some of the Chelsea fans who he alienated through the controversial interview. However, Lukaku was unable to make his starting lineup slot count after being given the chance.

Despite not scoring, the Belgian led the line valiantly for Chelsea and his persistent running helped the team press from the front. Chelsea will, however, be glad to have sorted their issues with the prolific Belgian and will hope he retuns to goalscoring form to help them close the gap on Manchester City. Chelsea currently sit in second, 10 points behind City in the Premier League and are in prime position to make the EFL final.

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Romelu Lukaku finding his way back to Chelsea's good graces

West Ham United v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku will be hoping to leave his mark in their upcoming games against Chesterfield and Tottenham Hotspur. The Belgian has rubbed some of the Chelsea faithful the wrong way with his unsanctioned Sky Italia interview, but has since apologized for the same.

Lukaku was dropped for Chelsea’s 2-2 draw in what appeared to be a punishment. The star is likely to find more playing time as Chelsea face a tough set of fixtures this month across competitions.

A good run of wins in the league could give the Blues a chance to reduce the point difference between themselves and first-placed Manchester City. The team will, however, need goals from the prolific Belgian international, who has been decent since his return to Chelsea, contributing 7 goals in 19 games so far.