LONDON (AFP) - Thomas Tuchel confirmed Chelsea face a period without Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner after the Champions League holders were rocked by their forwards' injury problems in Wednesday's (Oct 20) 4-0 win against Malmo. Tuchel's side brushed aside the Swedish minnows at Stamford Bridge thanks to Jorginho's penalty brace and goals from Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz. But Chelsea's second Group H victory, after losing to Juventus in their previous match, was significantly tarnished by the ankle injury suffered by Belgium striker Lukaku and a hamstring issue for Germany forward Werner. Both had to come off in the first half and Chelsea boss Tuchel will be waiting nervously to see how quickly they can return. "We have a twist of the ankle for Romelu, and muscle injury and hamstring for Timo, so they will be some days out I guess," Tuchel said. "We have a lot of games, so now we have to find solutions, no excuses." It would be a major blow if the pair are sidelined for a long period in the midst of a hectic schedule as Chelsea try to retain their position at the top of the Premier League, while pushing to qualify for the Champions League last 16. "The two were in good shape, they are dangerous and can create and score so we need to find solutions and guys who waited for their chance need to step up and score," Tuchel said. "The race is on, the guys who start against Norwich have our trust and we will try to find new solutions. "We have won games before with Werner and Lukaku, we don't want these problems too often but it happens during a season." Tuchel admitted this week that Lukaku has suffered from mental and physical fatigue amid a draining schedule for club and country. The Belgium striker has now gone seven Chelsea games without a goal after starting with four in four following his £98 million (S$180 million) club record move from Inter Milan. Frustratingly for Lukaku, he had looked closer to his best and it was his powerful surge that won the penalty converted by Jorginho, in the process causing his injury. While Werner has endured another difficult season, his injury will leave Havertz as Tuchel's only experienced option for the central striker's role. The decision to allow Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud to leave Chelsea since the end of last season might now prove costly for Chelsea. A relatively undemanding fixture list in the next few weeks is the only saving grace for Tuchel if he is denied the services of Lukaku and Werner for long. Rampant Chelsea After nine minutes, Thiago Silva curled a cross into the Malmo area and Christensen timed his run to meet it with a volley that bounced off the slick turf as it sped past Johan Dahlin from 10 yards. It was the Denmark defender's first goal for Chelsea since his debut in 2014. In the 21st minute, Lukaku bulled his way through the Malmo defence with a twisting run, prompting Lasse Nielsen to haul the striker down with a crude foul that forced him off. Jorginho took the penalty and altered his usual hop-step technique to drive a powerful strike past Dahlin for his first goal this season. More on this topic Related Story Football: Ronaldo header seals United comeback win over Atalanta in Champions League Related Story Football: Relentless Bayern crush Benfica 4-0 with four goals in 15 minutes in Champions League Tuchel's injury woes mounted just before half-time when Werner was forced off after pulling up while turning in the Malmo area. Havertz provided a welcome glimpse of his quality in his audition for the striker's role as he bagged Chelsea's third goal in the 48th minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi, on for Werner, led a dynamic break that finished with Havertz clipping a composed shot in off the far post. Chelsea were rampant and Antonio Rudiger's muscular burst was curtailed by Eric Larsson's foul, conceding a penalty that Jorginho nonchalantly slotted home in the 57th minute. The second-placed Blues remain three points behind group leaders Juventus with three games to play. More on this topic Related Story Football: Barca edge past Dynamo to revive Champions League hopes at half-empty Camp Nou Related Story Football: Lukaku scores first Stamford Bridge goals as Chelsea beat Villa
ROME (AFP) - Romelu Lukaku will not play in Inter Milan's pre-season friendly at Parma on Sunday after widespread reports in Italy said the striker was set to rejoin Chelsea in a deal worth up to 115 million euros (S$183.24 million). Belgium forward Lukaku was not in the Inter squad for the match at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, which will kick off at 1700 GMT and is expected to feature protests from supporters against a likely sale that comes after a concerted pursuit from European champions Chelsea. Inter are preparing to offload the 28-year-old for a fee which comes close to the record paid by a British club just days after Manchester City laid out £100 million to sign England international Jack Grealish from Aston Villa. Lukaku, who fired Inter to last year's Serie A title - their first since 2010 - was initially keen to stay in Italy after becoming a huge fan favourite under previous coach Antonio Conte. Last month he told official club channel Inter TV that he wanted to "achieve even more than last year" after scoring 24 league goals in the 2020/21 campaign and being voted player of the season. However the Gazzetta Dello Sport reports that Lukaku changed his mind and now wants to return to Chelsea, where, after signing from Anderlecht in 2011, he failed to make an impression ahead of a star-studded roll call of forwards which included his idol Didier Drogba. Italian broadcaster Sky Sport reported on Sunday that Inter have agreed personal terms with veteran Edin Dzeko to replace Lukaku, the Bosnia & Herzegovina striker having come close to leaving Roma for the Milan club in January. Inter's difficult summer The departure of Lukaku has angered Inter fans who are experiencing a difficult summer after watching their team romp to a 19th league crown. Coach Conte walked away from Inter last month with a year still left on his contract following clashes with the club's cash-strapped Chinese owners. Conte, who was replaced with Simone Inzaghi, refused Suning's planned cost-cutting which would have prevented him building the team he wanted to challenge at home and in Europe. Inter have already sold marauding wing-back Achraf Hakimi, a key figure in the title win, to Paris Saint-Germain for a reported initial 60 million euros, after just one season in Italy. There were even reports in England that Inter had agreed a fee in excess of £60 million to sell Lukaku's striker partner Lautaro Martinez to Tottenham Hotspur, although they were quickly denied by both Inter and the player's agent Alejandro Camano. More on this topic Related Story Football: Chelsea reportedly agree club record deal to re-sign Lukaku Related Story Football: Lukaku hopes for 'even more' with Serie A champions Inter next season Argentina forward Martinez is in Inter's starting line-up against Parma alongside rookie Uruguayan Martin Satriano. Inter made losses of 100 million euros in the 2019/20 season mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic which has caused havoc to club finances across Europe. According to finance company Deloitte, revenues in Serie A that season were down 18 percent, the biggest drop of Europe's top five leagues. The Suning Group, which owns Inter, shut down their Chinese club Jiangsu FC in February just months after it won the Chinese Super League title. In May Suning obtained financing worth 275 million euros (S$438.17 million) with US investment firm Oaktree Capital designed to get the club through its current financial strife. More on this topic Related Story Football: Chelsea sign goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli Related Story Russia's Abramovich didn't buy Chelsea for Putin, England court hears
BRUSSELS (REUTERS) - Belgium's Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the world's top strikers with his 60th international goal to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia in their Euro 2020 warm-up on Sunday (June 6). Lukaku struck from a goalmouth scramble in the 38th minute to win the match for the top-ranked Belgians, who will start the Euros in confident mood after a convincing performance. They shrugged off a bright start from Croatia to enjoy a comfortable victory, which might have had a more commanding scoreline had they taken all of their chances, as they confirmed their status as one the Euro 2020 favourites. The goal came when fellow European Championship contenders Croatia failed to clear a corner and Lukaku was first to swivel and hook the ball home after Jason Denayer laid it on for him. Lukaku had crashed a powerful strike against the crossbar seven minutes earlier as he shrugged off three markers to turn and fire goalwards. Yannick Carrasco was first to the rebound but sent his header against the bar too. Lukaku should have had a second goal three minutes from the end but Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic made a goal-line stop at point-blank range to keep out his powerful header. Carrasco and Nacer Chadli blazed good chances wide while Croatia's best opportunity fell to substitute Josip Brekalo in stoppage time but he was denied by keeper Thibaut Courtois. Captain Eden Hazard made his first appearance for Belgium since November 2019 as a substitute for the last eight minutes as he searches for fitness after an injury-plagued season. It increases the forward's chances of starting Saturday's Group B match against Russia in St Petersburg. Croatia, runners-up at the World Cup three years ago, start their Group D campaign against England at Wembley next Sunday. More on this topic Related Story Football: Lukaku to stay at Serie A champions Inter next season Related Story Football: Spirited Greece hold top-ranked Belgium to a 1-1 draw