sport news Chelsea: Romelu Lukaku has left Thomas Tuchel with selection dillemma for FA ... trends now
At the start of the month Romelu Lukaku's Chelsea future looked dead and buried when Thomas Tuchel left him on the bench while hunting a late equaliser at Everton.
Instead of throwing his £98million striker into the mix, Tuchel decided his best shot at rescuing a point would be to introduce wide forwards in Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech, and Lukaku's vacant, miserable stare into space spoke a thousand words.
But what a difference ten days can make.
Fast forward that amount of time and the Belgian, now boasting a return of three goals in his last two Premier League appearances, has suddenly revived his Blues career and thrown his hat into the ring to start Saturday's FA Cup final against Liverpool.
Romelu Lukaku has sparked back into life at Chelsea ahead of the FA Cup final on Saturday
His Blues future looked dead and buried when he was left out away at Everton ten days ago
In search of attacking inspiration after scoring just twice in three matches, Tuchel turned to Lukaku against Wolves last weekend and soon reaped the rewards when he fired them into a two-goal lead.
Chelsea may have blown that advantage in the end but one of few positives they took away was the performance of their previously-misfiring frontman, who for the first time in almost six months appeared in harmony with his fellow forwards and deadly in front of goal.
He first kept his nerve to slot home from the penalty spot, an underrated feat given the pressure on his shoulders, before latching onto a Pulisic pass and sweeping the ball in expertly from the edge of the box.
The quick-fire double was Lukaku's most joyous moment in a Chelsea shirt since he bagged a second goal in as many games against Brighton on December 29, so joyous in fact that the same fans who wanted him gone on the back of that bombshell Sky Italia interview earlier this year were left chanting his name.
But two goals against Wolves last weekend suddenly revived his fortunes at Stamford Bridge
The Belgian swept home from the penalty spot before scoring from the edge of the area
He then followed that up with another goal in their 3-0 win away at Leeds on Wednesday night
Not only did he score, Lukaku was much more involved in Chelsea's attacking play in both
Having linked up well with Pulisic in the draw with Wolves it was no surprise to see them get the nod again at Leeds on Wednesday night. Tuchel's false-nine system, centred around Kai Havertz, had become stale in recent weeks and the pair have sparked some much-needed life into his frontline.
Against a 10-man, relegation-threatened Leeds it somehow took Lukaku 83 minutes to find the back of the net, and he made hard work of it before converting from close range. Yet, the most striking difference and encouragement for Tuchel is his increased involvement in recent matches.
During their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in February, Opta
