“Why Lukaku Is Struggling At Chelsea” — Capello

Legendary Italian manager Fabio Capello has explained why Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea return has not gone to plan.

Lukaku was left out of Chelsea’s squad that defeated Lille 2-0 in the Champions League round of 16 first-leg ties on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.

The former Manchester United striker scored his last Premier League goal for Chelsea in their 1-1 draw with Brighton last December.

And Capello believes the Belgian international is struggling at the Champions League holders due to their different types of football with lots of short passes.

“Lukaku fit perfectly into [Antonio] Conte’s counter-attacking style at Inter because there were lots of spaces, he had this physical strength and pace that allowed him to flatten the defenders in Serie A,” Capello told Sky Sport Italia.

“However, Chelsea plays this very different type of football with lots of short passes and Lukaku does not have the same spaces to move in. He also finds that in England, the defenders have a similar physicality to him and hold out more.

“Lukaku had this power and space to run at defenders and turn the game around.”

Since his return to Stamford Bridge, Lukaku has managed 10 goals in 28 games in all competitions.